Investors Lose N386bn to Profit-Taking as Index Drops 1.31%

By Dipo Olowookere The last trading day of November 2023 on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a bullish note by 0.11 per cent on Thursday. Mild bargain-hunting in industrial goods equities like Lafarge Africa, supported by Airtel Africa, GTCO and other financial stocks left the market in the green territory at the close of business. Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 81.91 points to settle at 71,365.25 points compared with the preceding day’s 71,283.34 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N44 billion to N39.052 trillion from N39.008 trillion. Business Post reports that the

By Dipo Olowookere Local equities rebounded by 0.34 per cent on Wednesday on the back of buying pressure on a few energy stocks and others at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. According to data from the bourse, the bullish stance was attained despite profit-taking activities in the banking space amid plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recapitalise the industry, leaving the market breadth index negative. This was because the number of price losers was more than the price gainers at 39 and 19 apiece, indicating a weak investor sentiment. Business Post reports that the energy counter grew

By Adedapo Adesanya The boards of insurance companies operating in the country have been charged by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to embrace the measures put in place to tackle the challenges of unpaid claims. The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, expressed worry over the number of outstanding claims in the sector despite efforts by the regulator to address the issue. Mr Thomas, who is also the chief executive of NAICOM, said the organisation, in collaboration with members of the Insurers’ Committee, has taken decisions and incepted measures designed to tame the menace of unpaid claims. Speaking at the

By Adedapo Adesanya The return of the bears was averted at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Thursday by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which helped the alternative bourse close marginally higher by 0.03 per cent. This slight growth increased the value of the OTC exchange by N380 million, closing relatively flat at N1.165 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 0.27 points to end the day at 859.58 points compared with the previous day’s 859.31 points. During the trading day, the value of CSCS Plc went up by 8 Kobo to settle at N17.08

By Dipo Olowookere The strong growth recorded in the fee and commission of United Capital Plc in the first half of 2021 contributed to the 54 per cent increase in gross earnings, analysis of its financial statements for the period has revealed. The firm, which operates in the financial sector, released its unaudited results to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday. A look at the results by Business Post showed that the total revenue generated in the first six months of the year rose to N6.9 billion from N4.5 billion in the corresponding period of 2020. From this, fee

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed bearish on Thursday as a result of the 1.33 percent loss recorded by the market for unlisted securities in Nigeria. The poor performance of the market left the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) depreciating by 1.4 points to 697.91 points from 707.31 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N6.8 billion to N508.16 billion from N501.40 billion. However, the volume of transactions recorded at the exchange increased for the second consecutive day by 6.8 percent or 29,426 units to 505,528 units from 476,102 units. But the value of the trades

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has picked holes in the claims by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that it made available $2.83 forex to them and others. President of the association, Mr Frank Udemba Jacobs, said such amount was never allocated to them. He said the apex bank should explain how it shared the $2.83 billion to beneficiaries in the past two months. Penultimate Thursday, the CBN, through its spokesman, Mr Isaac Okorafor, had disclosed that $2.83 billion was disbursed for utilisation in the critical sectors of the economy between December 2016 and January this

By Investors Hub Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday after technology stocks led a slide in U.S. stocks on Friday. The dollar held steady against its peers, while oil traded mixed after the release of U.S. GDP data and amid renewed concerns around the U.S.-China trade war. Investor focus shifted to key central bank meetings this week. The Bank of Japan began a two-day policy meeting today, with analysts expecting the central bank to discuss reducing investments in ETFs tracking the Nikkei 225 Index. The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A final and binding judgement has been delivered by a Federal High Court in Abuja, directing Seplat Energy Plc to proceed with its Annual General Meeting (AGM) today, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The judgement was given in the case involving Akinnifesi & Adelaja and Seplat Energy with suit number FHC/ABJ/PET/7/2023. The energy company is having the AGM today by 11 am, and the court had ordered that no current or former directors, shareholders or officers of the company should cancel or postpone the meeting. “Seplat Energy announces that the Federal High Court, per A.R. Mohammed J, sitting

By Adedapo Adesanya The group managing director of Africa Re., Mr Corneille Karekezi, has pointed out that Nigeria remains a market filled with potential to do well regarding agro insurance, but farmers remain not fully integrated into the formal sector. In an interview published by the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), he said that despite the economic importance of the agricultural sector to many countries, agricultural insurance markets are still at a very early stage of development in Africa, drawing examples from South Africa and Nigeria. Agricultural insurance premiums in Africa are estimated to be less than 0.7 per cent of

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira could not sustain the expected positive momentum against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), formerly known as the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the forex market on Friday, October 13 as it dropped 0.8 per cent or N 5.66 after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) promised intervention as it lifted embargos on 43 items starved of FX since 2015. On Thursday, the apex bank said it would boost liquidity in the official market by supplying FX from time to time until the market attains stability. Market analysts said this

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has moved to investigate allegations that the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) is riddled with fraud and some irregularities. It was reported that these have led to the non-payment of salaries and allowances of federal civil servants. The Public Accounts Committee of the House said the move was necessary to sanitise the system. The committee, while engaging tertiary institutions and other agencies on their financial audit reports for 2018-2019 on Tuesday, December 1, said it was alarmed by the leakages and sharp practices observed in its earlier engagement with other agencies,