Economy
Domestic Stock Market Gains 0.19% on Bullish Sentiment
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a positive note on Monday with a 0.19 per cent appreciation.
This upward trend was buoyed by buying interests in local stocks as investors recalibrate their portfolios for the last quarter of the year.
Business Post observed that the insurance and industrial goods sectors experienced profit-taking yesterday, leading to their respective declines of 0.50 per cent and 0.14 per cent.
However, the banking space grew by 0.81 per cent, the consumer goods index appreciated by 0.40 per cent, and the energy counter went up by 0.22 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) improved its value by 186.16 points to settle at 97,706.70 points compared with the preceding session’s 97,520.54 points, and the market capitalization gained N107 billion to finish at N56.146 trillion versus last Friday’s N56.039 trillion.
Fidelity Bank was the best-performing stock during the trading day after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to quote at N14.30, ABC Transport increased by 9.76 per cent to close at N1.35, Livestock Feeds also grew by 9.76 per cent to N3.60, Regency Alliance Insurance expanded by 8.70 per cent to 50 Kobo, and Ellah Lakes jumped by 8.44 per cent to N4.88.
The worst-performing stock for the session was SCOA Nigeria, which shed 10.00 per cent to close at N1.71, Berger Paints fell by 9.95 per cent to quote at N19.00, Tripple G depreciated by 9.64 per cent to N2.25, Guinness Nigeria crumbled by 8.33 per cent to 44 Kobo, and Thomas Wyatt declined by 7.58 per cent to N1.83.
When trading activities finished for the day, the bourse was with 28 price gainers and 24 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index and bullish sentiment.
As for the activity chart, it was mixed on the first trading session of the week, with the trading value flat and the trading volume and the number of deals up by 308.08 per cent and 18.95 per cent, respectively.
Investors transacted 1.3 billion equities valued at N6.0 billion in 10,424 deals during the session, in contrast to the 320.7 million equities worth N6.0 billion traded in 8,763 deals in the previous trading day.
Tantalizers was the busiest stock for selling 1.0 billion units valued at N450.6 million, UBA traded 38.1 million units worth N1.1 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 23.4 million units for N459.7 million, Caverton sold 21.6 million units worth N56.6 million, and GTCO transacted 16.0 million units valued at N776.4 million.
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.
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