Economy
Investors Raise Eyebrows as FTN Cocoa, Japaul Gain Over 40% in Four Days
By Dipo Olowookere
Last week, which had only four trading sessions, shares of FTN Cocoa Processors and Japual Gold & Ventures Plc appreciated by over 40 per cent on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
In the previous week, the companies’ stocks grew by double-digits at the market, causing some investors to begin to probe the rationale behind the sudden rise in the equities of the firms.
Business Post reports that a few days ago, the NSE lifted the suspension placed on FTN Cocoa after it filed its outstanding financial statements, while Japual changed its trading symbol to a new one after its change of name.
At the market last week, shares of FTN Cocoa rose by 43.55 per cent to settle at 89 kobo per unit, while equities of Japaul improved by 41.18 per cent to trade at 48 kobo per share.
They were among the 35 equities that appreciated in price during the week, though lower than the 53 equities in the previous week.
In the week, BOC Gases grew by 20.83 per cent to sell at N8.70 per share, Dangote Cement appreciated by 16.95 per cent to close at N245.00 per unit, while Oando grew by 15.92 per cent to settle at N3.64 per share.
Conversely, a total of 18 stocks depreciated in price, higher than 17 equities in the previous week and they were led by Trans-Nationwide Express, which fell by 9.20 per cent to close at 79 kobo per share.
John Holt decreased by 8.93 per cent to 51 kobo per unit, Champion Breweries lost 7.87 per cent to close at 82 kobo per share, International Breweries dropped 5.90 per cent to sell at N5.90 per unit, while Ardova depreciated by 5.24 per cent to finish at N13.55 per share.
During the week, a total of 108 equities remained unchanged, higher than 91 recorded in the previous week.
A look at the key performance indicators of the market showed that the All-Share Index and market capitalisation appreciated by 5.42 per cent to close the week at 38,800.01 points and N20.279 trillion respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of the banking, AFR Bank Value, AFR Div Yield and MERI Growth which depreciated by 1.03 per cent, 0.95 per cent, 0.31 per cent and 0.80 per cent, while the ASeM and Growth indices closed flat.
On the activity chart, by the time market closed on Thursday, December 24, 2020, for the Christmas break, a total of 2.8 billion shares worth N40.3 billion had exchanged hands in 17,459 deals in contrast to the 1.9 billion shares valued at N17.7 billion traded in 20,660 deals a week earlier.
The financial services sector led the chart with 2.1 billion shares valued at N19.5 billion traded in 8,327 deals, contributing 76.40 per cent and 48.26 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The consumer goods industry followed with 182.1 million shares worth N4.4 billion in 2,485 deals, while the industrial goods counter recorded a turnover of 145.8 million shares worth N10.6 billion in 2,587 deals.
Access Bank, Zenith Bank and AXA Mansard Insurance were the most active stocks accounting for 1.4 billion shares worth N13.9 billion in 2,972 deals, contributing 52.23 per cent and 34.44 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.
