Economy
Blue-Chip Stocks Hold NSE Index Hostage for Second Day
By Dipo Olowookere
For the second straight trading session, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed in the negative territory as a result of the sustained profit-taking in some blue-chip equities.
From the analysis of the market performance yesterday, the 0.31 per cent decline recorded was influenced by the three of the five major sub-sectors of the exchange.
The industrial goods sector depreciated by 2.72 per cent and it was followed by the consumer goods counter, which dropped 1.30 per cent and the energy space, which fell by 0.53 per cent.
Dangote Cement was the heaviest price loser on Thursday, shedding N7.50 to close at N150.50 per unit and was followed by Nigerian Breweries, which lost N3.70 per unit to settle at N48.60 per share.
Conoil dropped 85 kobo to sell for N14.40 per unit, BUA Cement declined by 35 kobo to trade at N41.40 per unit, while Ardova depreciated by 35 kobo to finish at N12.45 per share.
However, the banking index and insurance sector grew by 2.88 per cent and 1.29 per cent respectively and on the gainer’s chart, Airtel Africa claimed the top spot after adding N10 to its share price to finish at N410.20 per unit.
Unilever Nigeria grew by N1.20 to settle at N13.50 per share, GTBank gained N1 to close at N32 per unit, Zenith Bank appreciated by 55 kobo to quote at N20.10 per share, while Ecobank gained 35 kobo to trade at N4.45 per unit.
Business Post reports that the activity chart was in red on Thursday though the trading volume still remained very high.
A total of 569.4 million shares were traded during the session, lower than the 832.9 million stocks transacted on Wednesday by 31.64 per cent.
In the same vein, the trading value dropped 48.49 per cent to N4.9 billion from N9.5 billion, while the number of deals depreciated by 33.54 per cent to 6,101 from 9,180.
Eterna was the most active stock on Thursday, trading 112.9 million units worth N372.5 million and was trailed by Zenith Bank, which transacted 74.2 million shares valued at N1.5 billion.
Access Bank traded 57.1 million equities worth N449.2 million, FBN Holdings exchanged 44.4 million stocks for N281.0 million, while Fidelity Bank transacted 31.8 million shares valued at N66.7 million.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 88.13 points to 28,546.22 points from 28,634.35 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N46 billion to N14.921 trillion from N14.967 trillion.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
