Economy
FTN Cocoa Gains 40.91%, Japaul Rises 36% in One Week
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Shareholders of FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, Japaul Gold and Ventures Plc and 51 others had reasons to smile last week at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
In the five-day trading week, the shares of these companies yielded bountiful returns and this gave holders of the securities to smile looking at their portfolios.
For FTN Cocoa, it appreciated by 40.91 per cent to close at 62 kobo per share, while Japaul gained 36.00 per cent to finish at 34 kobo per share.
Airtel Africa improved by 21.00 per cent in the week to end at N774.40 per share, AIICO Insurance gained 19.05 per cent to close at N1.25 per share, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance appreciated by 15.38 per cent to finish at 30 kobo per share.
At the close of business, the market recorded 53 price gainers compared with the 13 price risers of the preceding week.
However, only 17 equities depreciated in price in the week in contrast to the 46 equities of the earlier week and on top of the chart was Axa Mansard Insurance, which lost 60.00 per cent and Business Post reports that this was as a result of the price adjustment for its bonus share. This made the share price to close at 92 kobo per share as against the previous week’s N2.30 per share.
NEM Insurance depleted by 47.23 per cent as a result of its price adjustment in the week for its bonus share, closing at N1.24 per share in contrast to the previous N2.35 per share.
Omatek Ventures lost 16.67 per cent in the week to finish at 20 kobo per share, International Breweries depreciated by 12.67 per cent to close at N6.27 per share, while Linkage Assurance dropped 10.00 per cent to close at 45 kobo per share.
In the week, the All-Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation appreciated by 7.46 per cent to close the week at 36,804.75 points and N19.236 trillion respectively. Similarly, all other indices finished higher while the ASeM and NSE Growth indices closed flat.
On the activity chart, 1.9 billion shares worth N17.7 billion were traded in 20,660 deals during the week in contrast to the 2.3 billion shares valued at N21.0 billion traded the previous week in 23,722 deals.
It was gathered that the financial services industry led the activity chart with 1.5 billion shares valued at N8.4 billion traded in 10,834 deals, contributing 78.65 per cent and 47.52 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The consumer goods sector followed with 107.0 million shares worth N2.4 billion in 3,447 deals, while the services sector closed with a turnover of 74.8 million shares worth N191.8 million in 448 deals.
Further analysis showed that Jaiz Bank, FBN Holdings and Niger Insurance were the most active with 761.9 million shares worth N1.5 billion in 1,395 deals, contributing 40.25 per cent and 8.32 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
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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