Economy
Bargain Hunters Woo Bulls Back to Local Equity Market
By Dipo Olowookere
The bulls made a return to the local equity market on Friday, thanks to bargain hunters, who mopped up stocks in the consumer goods, banking and industrial goods sectors.
Their activities lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.28 per cent yesterday, raising the All-Share Index (ASI) higher by 140.03 points to 50,722.33 points from 50,582.30 points as the market capitalisation grew by N81 billion to settle at N27.358 trillion against the previous day’s N27.277 trillion.
Apart from the insurance sector, which declined by 0.40 per cent, every other counter closed higher, with the consumer goods index rising by 1.52 per cent. The energy space gained 0.37 per cent, the industrial goods counter appreciated by 0.35 per cent, while the banking landscape rose by 0.06 per cent.
Unlike the previous day, the level of activity improved on Friday, with the trading volume appreciating by 14.08 per cent to 148.8 million units from 130.5 million. The value of transactions rose by 18.65 per cent to N1.9 billion from N1.6 billion, while the number of trades expanded by 2.45 per cent to 4,091 deals from 3,993 deals.
Honeywell Flour ended the session as the most active stock, trading 22.0 million units valued at N64.1 million, GTCO sold 21.7 million shares worth N445.7 million, FBN Holdings transacted 11.3 million stocks for N123.8 million, Zenith Bank traded 10.2 million equities valued at N223.1 million, while Transcorp exchanged 8.7 million stocks for N9.9 million.
The market breadth was positive yesterday as the exchange finished the day with 24 appreciating stocks and 10 depreciating equities, indicating a positive investor sentiment.
Eterna topped the gainers’ log after its value rose by 10.00 per cent to N7.15 and was trailed by Multiverse, which grew by 9.94 per cent to N1.88. Japaul appreciated by 9.68 per cent to 34 Kobo, PZ Cussons grew by 9.63 per cent to N10.25, while Jaiz Bank improved by 8.86 per cent to 86 Kobo.
On the other side, Unilever emerged as the biggest price loser after its value went down by 10.00 per cent to N13.50 and was trailed by Skyway Aviation, which lost 8.76 per cent to finish at N6.25. Guinness Nigeria depreciated by 8.29 per cent to N83.00, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance declined by 7.69 per cent to 60 Kobo, while Regency Assurance decreased by 7.41 per cent to 25 Kobo.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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