Economy
Bears Return to Nigeria’s Stock Market, Cause 0.49% Loss
By Dipo Olowookere
The growth recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday was reversed on Wednesday following the reappearance of the bears.
The bourse was under selling pressure yesterday due to the profit-taking stance of traders, who were not too impressed with the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to hold rate at 27 per cent a day earlier despite waning inflation.
Data showed that investors booked profit after the previous day’s gain, with 738.4 million shares valued at N35.5 billion traded in 19,919 deals during the session, in contrast to the 556.2 million shares worth N18.7 billion transacted in 19,500 deals in the preceding session.
This showed that the trading volume, value, and number of deals went up by 32.76 per cent, 89.84 per cent, and 2.15 per cent, respectively.
GTCO finished the day as the busiest equity with a turnover of 134.1 million units worth N11.6 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 110.5 million units valued at N2.3 billion First Holdco sold 62.8 million units worth N2.0 billion, UBA transacted 39.3 million units valued at N1.4 billion, and Nigerian Breweries traded 38.0 million units for N2.5 billion.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment was bullish at midweek despite the loss, as there were 29 appreciating stocks and 27 depreciating stocks, indicating a positive market breadth index.
Learn Africa shed 10.00 per cent to close at N5.22, Cadbury Nigeria declined by 9.92 per cent to N53.10, Meyer fell by 9.91 per cent to N14.55, UPDC gave up 8.83 per cent to settle at N5.47, and International Breweries slipped by 8.33 per cent to N11.00.
On the flip side, AIICO Insurance gained 10.00 per cent to sell for N3.52, NCR Nigeria jumped 9.96 per cent to N49.70, Ikeja Hotel expanded by 9.41 per cent to N25.00, Prestige Assurance inflated by 7.38 per cent to N1.60, and Sterling Holdings grew by 6.85 per cent to N7.80.
The financial services space put up a good fight yesterday with the others but the weak outcome of the consumer goods index crumbled the market.
The insurance counter appreciated by 2.66 per cent, the industrial goods industry rose by 2.03 per cent, the banking index went up by 0.24 per cent, the energy sector improved by 0.17 per cent, and the commodity closed flat, while the consumer goods depleted by 1.33 per cent.
When Customs Street closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) retreated by 698.56 points to 143,064.57 points from 143,763.13 points and the market capitalisation contracted by N445 billion to N90.996 trillion from N91.441 trillion.
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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