Economy
Fidelity Bank Stocks Attract Investors as Market Closes 0.75% Higher
By Dipo Olowookere
Investors were attracted to Fidelity Bank stocks on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday, mopping up 38.0 million units worth N67.2 million to lead the activity chart.
Also, 28.0 million units of MTN Nigeria shares valued at N3.2 million were traded during the midweek trading session, while Lafarge Africa transacted 23.1 million equities worth N250.5 million.
Furthermore, 18.2 million stocks of GTBank valued at N403.6 million exchanged hands yesterday, while 16.8 million shares of Zenith Bank worth N276.4 million were bought and sold by investors at the trading day.
Business Post reports that at the close of transactions, more shares were traded by market participants when compared with the preceding session.
A total of 232.6 million worth N4.7 billion exchanged hands on Wednesday in 3,523 deals compared with Tuesday’s 155.5 million stocks worth N2.6 billion traded in 4,060 deals, indicating a decline of 13.23 percent in the number of deals and 49.56 percent and 80.65 percent rise in the volume and value of traded shares.
The renewed interest in the market boosted it by 0.75 percent as a result of gains in the banking sector (3.41 percent), insurance index (1.10 percent) and the industrial good space (0.12 percent). They suppressed the losses printed by the consumer goods sector (-0.21 percent) and the energy counter (-0.18 percent).
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 179.99 points to settle at 24,278.07 points, while the market capitalisation grew by N94 billion to N12.665 trillion.
Julius Berger led the gainers’ chart yesterday with N1.55 added to its share price to finish at N17.20 per share, while GTBank gained N1.45 to sell at N22.50 per unit.
Lafarge Africa grew by N1 to trade at N11 per unit, Okomu Oil appreciated by 80 kobo to end at N70.50 per share, while Zenith Bank expanded by 30 kobo to N16.65 per share.
Leading the losers’ table during the session was Berger Paints. The company’s stocks depreciated by 65 kobo to quote at N6.10 each.
Flour Mills lost 50 kobo to sell at N18 per share, Ecobank depreciated by 20 kobo to trade at N4.60 per unit, share price of Dangote Sugar went down by 10 kobo to N11.60 each, while Caverton declined by 8 kobo to close at N1.74 per share.
Today, investors will be expecting the market to sustain the positive ride as they further expand their portfolio because of the prices of stocks at the moment.
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.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
