Economy
Equity Market Sheds N17bn as Investors Stay Away
By Dipo Olowookere
The equity market in Nigeria was relatively quiet on Thursday as investors stayed away with the others selling off to book profit from the gains of the past trading sessions.
This was reflected in the activity level yesterday and contributed to the further decline of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.08 per cent at the close of transactions.
Business Post reports that the number of deals went down by 24.72 per cent to 3,688 deals from 4,899 deals, the trading volume fell by 45.08 per cent to 160.9 million stocks from 292.9 million stocks, while the trading value dropped 31.63 per cent to N1.4 billion from N2.1 billion.
FBN Holdings closed as the most traded stock with 19.5 million units worth N208.3 million, Lasaco Assurance exchanged 10.6 million units for N10.6 million, Transcorp also traded 10.6 million units valued at N10.7 million, Japaul transacted 8.7 million units worth N3.4 million, while NGX Group sold 8.1 million units for N154.1 million.
It was observed that the weak investor sentiment remained during the trading session as the market breadth ended negative with 25 price depreciating shares and 13 price appreciation equities.
SCOA Nigeria was the best-performing stock as its price rose by 9.47 per cent to N1.04, Linkage Assurance grew by 7.55 per cent to 57 kobo, Okomu Oil improved by 5.19 per cent to N142.00, AIICO Insurance gained 4.92 per cent to sell at N1.28, while Honeywell Flour chalked up 4.60 per cent to trade at N3.64.
Conversely, Pharma Deko finished the session as the worst-performing equity after its value went down by 10.00 per cent to N2.34. Unilever Nigeria dropped 8.65 per cent to N14.25, Red Star Express depleted by 8.24 per cent to N3.12, Royal Exchange fell by 7.69 per cent to 48 kobo, while Cutix depreciated by 7.50 per cent to N5.55.
Unlike the preceding trading day, one sector closed bullish yesterday and it was the insurance index, which appreciated by 1.29 per cent.
However, the energy counter declined by 0.64 per cent, the consumer goods space depreciated by 0.58 per cent, the banking sector dropped 0.51 per cent, while the industrial goods index lost 0.13 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI), which is the main performance indicator of the exchange, shed 31.62 points to finish at 41,943.83 points in contrast to the previous session’s 41,975.45 points, while the market capitalisation, which measures the total value of stocks at the bourse, depleted by N17 billion to N21.889 trillion from N21.906 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was weakened by 1.19 per cent on Thursday, July 9, by three bellwether stocks on the platform.
Consequently, the NASD Security Index (NSI) lost 50.47 points to close at 4,199.73 compared with the previous day’s 4,250.20 points, and the market capitalisation gave up N30.29 billion to settle at N2.520 trillion versus Wednesday’s closing value of N2.551 trillion.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which fell by N20.54 to sell at N200.01 per share compared with the preceding session’s N220.55 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc crashed by N11.48 to trade at N140.51 per unit compared with the N151.98 per unit it ended a day earlier, and UBN Property Plc depreciated by 19 Kobo to N1.80 per share from N1.99 per share.
Business Post reports that the sole gainer at the session was IPWA Plc, which added 88 Kobo to quote at N9.71 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s closing price of N8.83 per unit.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 14,965.4 per cent to 23.9 million units from the previous session’s 158,933 units, and the value of stocks rose by 528.1 per cent to N68.2 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, while the number of deals decreased by 3.2 per cent to 30 deals from Wednesday’s 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the trading day as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 70.7 million units exchanged for N4.9 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 transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A slowdown in the demand for foreign exchange (FX) strengthened the value of the Nigerian Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, July 9.
At the official market, the Naira gained 64 Kobo or 0.05 per cent against the greenback yesterday to sell at N1,378.43/$1 compared with Wednesday’s exchange rate of N1,379.07/$1.
The market saw a sharp decrease in transaction volume and value, meaning that heavy demand for the Dollar eased.
Interbank FX turnover reduced sharply by more than 62 per cent to $78.708 million, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), from $208.094 million in the preceding day.
FX traders also noticed a sharp decline in the number of deals at the NFEM window in the absence of Dollar injection by the central bank. Deal counts shrank to 106 during the NFEM window, down from 150, reflecting a slowdown in FX activity among market makers.
However, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the spot market during the session by N6.18 to N1,846.82/£1 from N1,840.64/£1, and declined against the Euro by N2.79 to close at N1,576.09/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,573.30/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N4 against the US Dollar to quote at N1,385/$1, in contrast to the N1,381/$1 it was traded at midweek, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,400/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market soared after a moderation in oil prices and bond yields following the collapse of the Iran war ceasefire.
As has been the pattern for months, markets are looking past inflamed rhetoric and new airstrikes to likely conciliatory statements in the near future.
Bitcoin (BTC) gained 2.3 per cent to sell at $64,048.89, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.9 per cent to $0.0741, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 1.6 per cent to $1,777.98, Solana (SOL) rose by 1.0 per cent to $79.13, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $1.10, Binance Coin (BNB) added 0.6 per cent to sell for $576.91, and TRON (TRX) also improved by 0.6 per cent to $0.3329.
However, Cardano (ADA) crashed by 0.9 per cent to $0.1669, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
Subscription for the July 2026 edition of the FGN savings bond is closing today, Friday, July 10.
The exercise started on Monday, July 6, with two tenures of two years and three years on offer to retail investors.
The retail bonds are sold by the federal government through the Debt Management Office (DMO) to raise funds for the country’s budget deficits.
The savings bond offers investors steady tax-free income. It is risk-free, backed by the Nigerian government, and listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, allowing for secondary market trading and easy exit before maturity.
For the two-year FGN savings bond maturing on July 15, 2028, the debt office is offering it at a 14.716 per cent per annum interest rate, while the three-year FGN savings bond due July 15, 2029, is at 15.716 per cent per annum, with the interest on the investment being paid by the government every quarter.
Intending investors can purchase the debt instrument at a unit price of N1,000, subject to a minimum subscription of N5,000 and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter, subject to a maximum subscription of N50.0 million.
