Economy
Equity Market Further Loses N219bn as Profit-Taking Persists
By Dipo Olowookere
It was a bad start to the week for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it further shed 0.24 per cent on Monday due to continued profit-taking.
The loss happened on a day the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) commenced its two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the gross domestic product (GDP) of Nigeria increased by 4.23 per cent in the second quarter of 2025.
Analysts are expecting a slight rate cut announcement on Tuesday (today) from the central bank because of the moderation in inflation rate for the past five months. The bank has retained rates for the past four MPC meetings.
It was observed that on Customs Street yesterday, the selling pressure was almost across the key sectors, though the commodity and the industrial goods sectors were flat.
The consumer goods space lost 0.77 per cent, the energy index fell by 0.50 per cent, the banking counter weakened by 0.25 per cent, and the insurance industry slumped by 0.08 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) retracted by 347.12 points to 141,498.22 points from 141,845.34 points and the market capitalisation retreated by N219 billion to N89.525 trillion from N89.744 trillion.
On the first trading session of the week, McNichols topped the laggards’ group after it lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N3.33, Ikeja Hotel declined by 9.80 per cent to N20.70, FTN Cocoa depleted by 8.33 per cent to N5.50, Nigerian Breweries tumbled by 7.64 per cent to N70.15, and Honeywell Flour decreased by 6.79 per cent to N20.60.
Conversely, Royal Exchange led the advancers’ gang after it added 9.80 per cent to its share price to close at N2.24, Secure Electronic Technology appreciated by 6.67 per cent to 80 Kobo, Chams improved by 6.13 per cent to N3.29, Prestige Assurance expanded by 5.75 per cent to N1.84, and DAAR Communications grew by 5.66 per cent to N1.12.
During the trading day, investors bought and sold 488.6 million shares valued at N13.7 billion in 28,621 deals compared with the 435.2 million shares valued at N15.1 billion traded in 24,309 deals last Friday, showing shortfall in the trading value by 9.27 per cent and a rise in the trading volume and number of deals by 12.27 per cent and 17.74 per cent, respectively.
Universal Insurance was on top of the activity chart after it sold 79.6 million units for N95.1 million, Zenith Bank traded 58.6 million units worth N3.7 billion, Nigerian Breweries transacted 32.5 million units valued at N2.4 billion UBA exchanged 32.0 million units for N1.4 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology traded 22.2 million units worth N17.8 million.
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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