Economy
Bears Tighten Grip on NGX as Index Further Sheds 0.03%
By Dipo Olowookere
For the third straight trading session, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed in the negative territory with a marginal 0.03 per cent loss on Thursday as the bears tightened their grip on the market.
A decline in the share prices of MTN Nigeria, Zenith Bank, Julius Berger, FBN Holdings and seven others contributed to the poor performance of the exchange yesterday.
However, the investor sentiment and the market breadth closed positive respectively as there were 14 price gainers led by Union Bank.
The news of a takeover of the lender by a relatively new bank, Titan Trust Bank, triggered a buying interest in the shares of the firm, causing the value to rise by 9.78 per cent to N5.05 at the close of transactions.
Royal Exchange appreciated by 7.14 per cent to 75 kobo, Mutual Benefits grew by 6.67 per cent to 32 kobo, Eterna gained 6.00 per cent to sell for N5.30, while Oando rose by 5.26 per cent to N4.60.
Julius Berger recorded the heaviest loss on Thursday as its value went down by 9.88 per cent to N22.35, UPDC dropped 5.60 per cent to N1.18, Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 4.00 per cent to trade at 24 kobo, FBN Holdings declined by 2.50 per cent to N11.70, while Honeywell Flour retreated by 1.43 per cent to N3.45.
At the market yesterday, the consumer goods sector was the only decliner as it closed 0.02 per cent lower, while the energy, banking, insurance and industrial goods counters finished higher by 1.10 per cent, 0.52 per cent, 0.36 per cent and 0.13 per cent respectively.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 13.74 points to 42,230.48 points from 42,244.22 points, while the market capitalisation depleted by N7 billion to finish at N22.043 trillion versus the previous day’s N22.050 trillion.
Business Post reports that UAC Nigeria was the most traded stock on Thursday as it recorded a turnover of 65.0 million units valued at N617.0 million.
Sovereign Trust Insurance sold 23.3 million equities worth N5.5 million, GTCO exchanged 21.1 million stocks for N549.6 million, Jaiz Bank traded 15.0 million shares valued at N9.6 million, while Unity Bank transacted 8.0 million stocks worth N3.8 million.
In all, a total of 211.1 million shares worth N2.5 billion were traded in 2,815 deals during the session compared with the 224.0 million shares worth N2.7 billion transacted in 2,677 deals the preceding trading day, indicating a decline in the trading volume and value by 5.77 per cent and 7.26 per cent respectively and a 5.16 per cent increase in the number of deals.
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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