Economy
How Nigeria’s Stock Market Closed 2020 at 40,270.72 Points
By Dipo Olowookere
Against all odds, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) finished very strong in the year 2020, with the All-Share Index (ASI) hitting 40,270.72 points.
On the last trading session of the year, the market appreciated by 1.92 per cent on the back of gains printed by MTN Nigeria, BUA Cement and other stocks.
In the session, the benchmark index added 758.41 points to its previous value of 39,512.31 points as a result of the buying pressure on the blue-chip equities.
This resulted in an increase in the market capitalisation of the exchange by N397 billion to N21.057 trillion from N20.660 trillion.
When there was an outbreak of coronavirus early in the year, not many gave the local bourse the chance to perform well in the year. In fact, offshore investors had to pull out of the market for fear of the exchange crashing like in 2007/2008 global financial mess.
However, the exit of the foreign portfolio investors gave domestic investors a good opportunity to take charge of the market and it was good for the NSE at last.
On the last trading session of the year last Thursday, MTN Nigeria gained N9.90 to settle at N169.90 per share and was trailed by BUA Cement, which appreciated by N6.95 to close at N77.35 per unit.
BOC Gases rose by 87 kobo to finish at N9.57 per share, Northern Nigerian Flour Mills grew by 61 kobo to end at N6.74 per unit, while C&I Leasing gained 47 kobo to close at N5.20 per share.
Despite the positive performance of the market during the session, some shares performed badly, with Presco the worst as a result of the 85 kobo price decline it recorded, closing at N70.95 per share.
International Breweries lost 54 kobo to finish at N5.95 per unit, Eterna fell by 51 kobo to end at N5.10 per share, Ecobank depleted by 50 kobo to sell at N6 per unit, while Dangote Sugar lost 30 kobo to close at N17.60 per share.
On the activity chart, a total of 710.7 million shares worth N10.1 billion exchanged hands in 4,396 deals compared with the 372.9 million stocks valued at N11.5 billion transacted a day earlier in 5,186 deals, indicating a rising in the trading volume by 90.57 per cent, a decline in the trading value by 12.35 per cent and a slump in the number of deals by 15.23 per cent.
AIICO Insurance closed as the most active stock by volume with the sale of 206.0 million shares valued at N234.2 million, while Access Bank traded 99.7 million stocks worth N898.6 million.
Japaul sold 85.7 million units worth N49.6 million, FBN Holdings transacted 48.3 million equities valued at N342.9 million, while Zenith Bank exchanged 44.0 million shares for N1.1 billion.
On a sectoral level, only the industrial goods and energy sectors closed the last trading session of the year positive, rising by 3.90 per cent and 0.65 per cent respectively.
The banking space lost 0.89 per cent, the consumer goods counter depreciated by 0.80 per cent, while the insurance sector went down by 0.41 per cent when market activities were closed at 12:30pm because of the public holiday the next day for New Year celebration.
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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