Economy
Benchmark Index Drops 0.40% as Large Cap Stocks Disappoint
By Dipo Olowookere
Trading activities at the local bourse on Thursday ended on a bearish note again as it had been since the beginning of this week.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed for the day shedding 0.40 percent with the Year-to-Date (YtD) shrinking to 6.99 percent.
Profit taking activities on large cap counters in the banking, industrial, Oil & gas and consumer goods were observed at the stock market.
Even the release of the 2017 financial statements of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc today did not have much impact on the market.
At the close of business transactions on Thursday, the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 165.18 points to close at 40,914.94 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N59.8 billion to settle at N14.821 trillion.
Also, the volume and value of equities transacted at the market today decreased by 28.19 percent and 56.06 percent respectively.
A total of 244.9 million shares worth N4.1 billion were traded today in 3,804 deals compared with the 341.1 million equities sold yesterday in 3,790 deals valued at N9.3 billion.
Zenith Bank recorded heavy transaction at the market on Thursday, exchanging a total of 79.4 million units worth N2.2 billion.
Access Bank followed with 19.9 million units sold for N224.9 million, and UBA, which traded 19 million equities valued at N223.2 million.
Fidelity Bank transacted 13.4 million shares valued at N33.6 million, while CAP exchanged 9.2 million shares valued at N356.4 million.
Business Post reports that the market breadth closed negative again today with 24 price risers and 27 price fallers.
Seplat topped the laggards’ table after losing N25 of its share value to settle for the day at N725 per share.
It was followed by Dangote Cement, which went down by N3 to close at N245 per share, and Forte Oil, which crashed by 85k to end at N40 per share.
NASCON declined by 60k to finish at N20.40k per share, while GTBank lost 50k to close at N44.50k per share.
Conversely, Okomu Oil emerged the biggest price gainer after adding N4.05k to its share price to close at N85.05k per share.
CCNN went up by N2.45k to finish at N27.05k per share, while CAP advanced by N1.80k to end at N38.90k per share.
MRS Oil Nigeria increased by N1.40k to settle at N29.75k per share, while Zenith Bank increased by 45k to close at N27.95k per share.
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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