Economy
Equity Market Gains N6bn as Investors’ Risk Appetite Sours
By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited marginally closed higher by 0.02 per cent on Friday as investors’ risk appetite fades.
Business Post reports that the slight bargain hunting witnessed at the local equity market on the last trading session of this week was because investors were treading cautiously.
Not even the declaration of a 30 kobo interim dividend from Zenith Bank could trigger a massive buy pressure, though the results, which was relatively flat, were released almost at the close of trades.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) was just up by a mere 8.47 points to 39,485.65 points from 39,477.18 points, while the market capitalisation rose by N6 billion to N20.573 trillion from N20.567 trillion.
The marginal growth recorded yesterday was just due to the mopping up of shares in the energy and banking sectors, rising respectively by 0.31 per cent and 0.29 per cent.
The insurance counter lost 0.65 per cent, the consumer goods space went down by 0.25 per cent, while the industrial goods sector closed flat.
In terms of the transactions on Friday, a total of 232.9 million shares worth N1.9 billion were traded in 3,351 deals compared with the 186.3 million shares worth N1.8 billion traded in 3,595 deals a day earlier, implying that the trading volume and value went up by 24.97 per cent and 3.18 per cent respectively, while the number of deals went down by 6.79 per cent.
A further breakdown of the trades showed that Transcorp was the most active as it sold 45.1 million stocks valued at N42.1 million, followed by Mutual Benefits Assurance, which sold 29.3 million shares valued at N8.9 million,
GTCO transacted 22.1 million equities worth N614.3 million during the session, Zenith Bank transacted 16.4 million stocks valued at N399.2 million, while eTranzact exchanged 13.8 million equities for N26.8 million.
A total of 10 equities closed on the losers’ chart yesterday while 18 stocks closed on the gainers’ log led by Morison Industries, which appreciated by 9.47 per cent to settle at N1.85.
FTN Cocoa grew by 9.09 per cent to 48 kobo, Sovereign Trust Insurance improved by 8.70 per cent to 25 kobo, UPDC went up by 8.28 per cent to N1.83, while BOC Gases gained 6.31 per cent to sell at N11.80.
During the session, Unilever Nigeria had the worst day as its share price went down by 10.00 per cent, selling at N13.50 and was trailed by NASCON, which fell by 9.87 per cent to N14.15.
AIICO Insurance depreciated by 4.85 per cent to 98 kobo, Veritas Kapital declined by 4.17 per cent to 23 kobo, while Transcorp decreased by 3.16 per cent to 92 kobo.
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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