Economy
Fidelity Bank Leads Stocks to 1.36% Weekly Gain
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed last week on a positive note for the second consecutive time with a gain of 1.36 percent.
The market ended with the All-Share Index and market capitalisation appreciated by 1.36 percent to close at 31,426.63 points and N11.719 trillion respectively.
Also in the week, all other indices finished higher with the exception of the NSE ASeM, NSE Consumer Goods, NSE Oil/Gas, NSE Lotus II and NSE Industrial Goods indices that depreciated by 0.17 percent, 0.41 percent, 1.32 percent, 0.60 percent and 2.02 percent respectively.
Data from the NSE showed that 40 equities appreciated in price during the week, higher than 38 in the previous week, 25 equities depreciated in price, lower than 29 of the previous week, and 103 equities remained unchanged, higher than one 102 equities recorded in the preceding week.
Business Post reports that Fidelity Bank topped the gainers’ chart after appreciating by 24.38 percent in the week, closing at N2.50k per unit.
Caverton rose by 22.63 percent to end at N2.33k per share, while FCMB grew by 22.16 percent to settle at N2.15k per share.
Conversely, Resort Savings and Loans ended as the worst performing stock, losing 23.08 percent to end at 20 kobo per unit.
It was followed by Sovereign Trust Insurance, which went down by 19.23 percent to settle 21 kobo per unit, and Medview Airline, which declined by 9.76 percent to finish at N1.85k per share.
In the week, a total turnover of 1.8 billion shares worth N17.2 billion in 18,332 deals were traded by investors on the floor of the local exchange in contrast to a total of 1.3 billion shares valued at N13.5 billion that exchanged the previous week in 16,476 deals.
The Financial Services sector (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.6 billion shares valued at N14.7 billion traded in 11,778 deals, contributing 89.93 percent and 85.28 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The Conglomerates industry followed with 83.6 million shares worth N138.3 million in 951 deals, while the third place was Consumer Goods space with a turnover of 36.3 million shares worth N1 billion in 2,224 deals.
Trading in the top three equities; Diamond Bank, Access Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank GTBank), measured by volume, accounted for 871.5 million shares worth N8.5 billion in 3,305 deals, contributing 48.23 percent and 49.25 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Also traded during the week were a total of 34,341 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N440,166.37 executed in 7 deals compared with a total of 55 units valued at N5,610.00 that was transacted a week earlier in 2 deals.
In addition, a total of 3,498 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N3.131million were traded in the week in 20 deals compared with a total of 3,573 units valued at N3.764 million transacted the previous week in 24 deals.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 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 valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
