Economy
Bears Take Back Customs Street as Stock Investors Give up N17bn
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated by 0.17 per cent on Friday as profit-taking activity crept back into Customs Street as a result of weak investor sentiment.
The bourse came under selling pressure yesterday as traders cut down their exposure to equities amid an unstable macroeconomic environment caused by fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification.
Business Post reports that the local stock exchange welcomed a new member on the last trading session of the week. VFD Group listed its equities on the platform.
Despite pushing the value of the market higher at the close of transactions, it went down by 0.05 per cent or N17 billion to N36.510 trillion from the N36.527 trillion it ended a day earlier.
As for the All-Share Index (ASI), it decreased during the trading session by 115.62 points to settle at 66,454.57 points compared with Thursday’s closing value of 66,570.19 points.
Data revealed that the industrial goods sector shrank by 4.76 per cent and the insurance counter declined by 1.54 points. However, the banking space grew by 0.71 per cent, while the energy and the consumer goods indices closed flat each.
The activity chart was mixed on Friday after the trading value rose by 89.36 per cent to N8.9 billion from N4.7 billion, and the trading volume retreated by 63.12 per cent to 374.1 million units from 1.0 billion units as the number of deals moderated by 1.97 per cent to 6,822 deals from 6,959 deals.
The most traded stock yesterday was UBA, which sold 52.4 million units for N901.3 million, followed by Fidelity Bank with the sale of 49.7 million units for N412.9 million. BUA Cement traded 45.1 million stocks worth N4.1 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 29.7 million equities valued at N475.6 million, and Oando transacted 21.6 million shares valued at N195.8 million.
The market breadth was negative during the trading session, with 25 price losers and 20 price gainers.
Oando topped the losers’ chart on Friday after it declined by 9.55 per cent to N9.00m SCOA Nigeria shed 9.52 per cent to close at N1.14, NEM Insurance lost 9.09 per cent to trade at N5.00, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance slumped by 8.93 per cent to N1.02, and GlaxoSmithKline dropped 8.80 per cent to quote at N11.40.
Conversely, Omatek topped the gainers log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to 44 Kobo, VFD Group rose by 9.96 per cent to N269.30, Airtel Africa appreciated by 8.53 per cent to N1,400.10, Caverton expanded by 5.84 per cent to N1.45, and Linkage Assurance rose by 4.17 per cent to 75 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.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
