Economy
Bears Maintains Grip on Local Bourse as Equities Lose 1.53%
By Dipo Olowookere
Negative sentiment continued yesterday on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as investors await the release of more 2017 financial results of companies listed on the local bourse.
By the time the market closed for business on Thursday, the stock market went down by 1.53 percent, shrinking the year-to-date return to 10.31 percent.
The All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 654.11 points to close at 42,185.38 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N234 billion to settle at N15.091 trillion.
Also, the market breadth finished negative with 39 stocks suffering price depreciation, while 15 equities experienced price appreciation.
Seplat suffered the biggest loss at the stock market yesterday after declining by N17.50k to close at N767.50k per share.
Mobil depreciated by N7.40k to finish at N176.30k per share, while Dangote Cement went down by N6.20k to end at N262.60k per share.
Furthermore, Unilever shed N4.90k to settle at N52.90k per share, while ConOil reduced by N1.75k to close at N33.45k per share.
On the flip side, it was a good day for Nestle as the stock appreciated by N15 to close at N1395 per share.
Nigerian Breweries grew by N2.10k to settle at N133 per share, while Dangote Sugar went up by 80k to end at N22 per share.
Stanbic IBTC advanced by 65k to finish at N49.80k per share, while NPF Microfinance Bank gained 18k to close at N2.2k per share.
Business Post reports that the volume of transactions increased yesterday by 8.34 percent while the value of trades went down by 11.93 percent.
A total of 404.7 million shares worth N6 billion were traded by investors on Thursday in 5,403 deals against the 373.5 million equities traded on Wednesday in 5,220 deals worth N6.9 billion.
Zenith Bank was the busiest stock at the market yesterday, trading 67 million shares valued at N1.9 billion.
FBN Holdings followed with 48.4 million equities sold for N544.2 million, and Regal Insurance, which exchanged 41.2 million shares for N11.5 million.
Fidelity Bank transacted 32.6 million shares valued at N83.4 million, while UBA sold 27 million equities for N318.4 million.
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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