Economy
Blue-Chip Stocks Weaken Nigerian Stock Market Performance
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) kicked off trading activities on Monday on a bearish note, reversing the gains recorded last Friday when it went up by 1.44 percent.
The local bourse, Business Post reports, was weakened yesterday by losses posted by some blue-chip equities trading at the market. This was caused by profit-taking embarked upon by investors.
By the time the stock market closed for the day, it pointed south, finishing 0.87 percent lower, while the Year-to-Date returns ended at 0.77 percent.
While the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated yesterday by 331.63 points to close at 37,946.92 points, the market capitalisation decreased by N120 billion to finish at N13.746 trillion.
Business Post further reports that the volume of equities bought and sold at the stock market on Monday decreased by 45.41 percent just as the value of shares exchanged went down by 68.02 percent.
A total of 256.229 million shares exchanged hands yesterday in 3,308 deals worth N1.9 billion compared with the 469.342 million units traded in the previous session valued at N5.8 billion.
A breakdown of the transactions showed that the Financial Services sector led the activity chart with 203.2 million shares exchanged for N1.1 billion, while the Services sector followed with 13 million shares traded for N29 million.
A further breakdown indicated that Sterling Bank shares were the darling of Investors at the market on Monday, with a total of 100.4 million units worth N138.5 million traded at the close of business.
It was followed by FBN Holdings, which sold 23.7 million shares valued at N251.1 million, and Wema Bank, which exchanged 16.9 million equities worth N12.4 million.
UBA transacted 12.6 million shares valued at N131.8 million yesterday, while McNichols Consolidated sold 11.8 million equities worth N10.6 million.
On the price movement chart, Dangote Cement emerged the biggest price loser, going down by N4.90k to settle at N224.10k per share.
It was trailed by Forte Oil, which went down by N3.20k to close at N29.65k per share, and Nigerian Breweries, which lost N1.10k to finish at N113.10k per share.
GTBank depreciated by 50 Kobo to finish at N40 per share, while Zenith Bank declined by 40 Kobo to settle at N24.60k per share.
On the other hand, it was a good day for Mobil Oil Nigeria as its stock appreciated by N16.90k to close at N199.90k per share.
It was followed by Guinness Nigeria, which gained N1.30k to settle at N99.05 per share, and Flour Mill, which went up by 80 Kobo to close at N32.80k per share.
Julius Berger grew by 55 Kobo to settle at N28.05k per share, while C&I Leasing increased by 20 Kobo to end at N2.27k 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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