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
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
