Economy
Local Stocks Remain Bearish After 0.35% Loss
By Dipo Olowookere
The bearish trend that resurfaced on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday was sustained on Thursday by a further 0.35 percent decline printed by the market.
Profit taking by investors ensured that the local equity market remained under pressure as Senate continued with the screening of ministerial nominees sent to the upper parliament for confirmation on Tuesday, when the market recorded a surge after days of losses.
The All-Share Index (ASI), which closed at 28,088.74 points on Wednesday, decreased by 98.13 points on Thursday to finish at 27,990.61 points.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation ended yesterday at N13.641 trillion against N13.689 trillion it closed the previous day, indicating a decline of N48 billion.
Dangote Cement topped the decliners’ chart on Thursday after shares of the company went down by N2 to finish at N171 per unit. MTN Nigeria followed with a decline of N2 to end at N125 per share, while Forte Oil lost 65 kobo to close at N17.50k per unit.
Global Spectrum Energy Services depreciated by 55 kobo to finish at N5.20k each, while Caverton went down by 23 kobo to settle at N2.34k per share.
On the flip side, Flour Mills emerged the highest price gainer after adding 85 kobo to its share value to finish at N14.85k per share.
Lafarge Africa gained 25 kobo to close at N14.40k per unit, while UAC Nigeria appreciated by 20 kobo to settle at N5.85k each. FCMB rose yesterday by 14 kobo to finish at N1.73k per unit, while NEM Insurance improved by 12 kobo to trade at N2.20k per share.
At the market on Thursday, financial stocks topped the activity chart with a total of 164.5 million shares sold for N1.1 billion, while equities in the ICT sector followed with 154.5 million units transacted for N458 million.
A further breakdown indicated that Courtville caught the attention of traders yesterday, closing with a turnover of 150 million shares worth N30 million.
FCMB exchange 73.3 million shares valued at N123.2 million, UBA sold 35.7 million equities for N200.6 million, Transcorp exchanged 11.7 million shares worth N11.9 million, while Zenith Bank traded 10.3 million equities valued at N190.3 million.
In the end, the volume of shares traded by investors on Thursday increased by 127.59 percent to 359.1 billion from 157.8 million recorded on Wednesday, while the value of the transactions yesterday went down by 25.09 percent to N1.9 billion from N2.5 billion in the previous session.
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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