Economy
Investors Wail as Bears Devour Nigerian Stocks by 0.06%
By Dipo Olowookere
The nation’s stock market was further battered by the bears on Friday by 0.06 per cent as investors continue to rebalance their portfolios.
This deepened the year-to-date loss to 0.21 per cent as the news of Nigeria’s exit from recession on Thursday could not change the minds of investors.
At the close of business yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) reduced by 25.49 points to settle at 40,186.70 points from 40,212.19 points of the preceding session, while the market capitalisation decreased by N11 billion to N21.026 trillion from N21.037 trillion.
A look at the sectoral performance showed that insurance, energy and industrial goods sectors depreciated by 1.83 per cent, 1.82 per cent and 0.15 per cent respectively, while the banking and consumer goods counters grew by 1.95 per cent and 0.08 per cent respectively.
Stanbic IBTC was the heaviest price loser, declining by 10.00 per cent to close at N38.70 per share and was trailed by May & Baker lost 9.89 per cent to finish at N4.19 per unit.
Multiverse depreciated by 8.33 per cent to trade at 22 kobo per share, Neimeth dropped 7.80 per cent to end at N2.01 per unit, while Royal Exchange fell by 7.41 per cent to settle at 25 kobo per share.
At the other side, Livestock Feeds ended the session as the biggest price gainer, rising by 9.27 per cent to quote at N2.24 per unit.
Portland Paints gained 8.70 per cent to close at N3.25 per share, FTN Cocoa grew by 8.16 per cent to 53 kobo per unit, United Capital appreciated by 6.19 per cent to settle at N6.35 per share, while Africa Prudential grew by 5.80 per cent to N7.30 per unit.
Unlike the previous day, the level of activity waned on Friday as a result of the 27.80 per cent decline in the trading volume, 38.84 per cent fall in the trading value and 11.65 per cent reduction in the number of deals.
During the session, Business Post observed that investors traded 307.8 million stocks worth N2.9 billion in 4,393 deals as against the 426.3 million shares worth N4.8 billion traded in 4,972 deals on Thursday.
FBN Holdings was the most active equity with the sale of 85.6 million units worth N624.7 million and was trailed by United Capital, which exchanged 53.3 million shares for N341.8 million.
UBA transacted 23.4 million equities valued at N193.0 million, Zenith Bank traded 17.6 million stocks for N432.0 million while GTBank exchanged 11.5 million shares for N348.6 million.
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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