Economy
Market Gains 0.13% as Wema Bank, Zenith Bank Attract Investors
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed 0.13 per cent higher on Thursday on the back of a renewed interest in local equities.
Shares of Wema Bank, Mutual Benefits Assurance, Zenith Bank and others enjoyed investors’ patronage yesterday as traders begin to rebalance their portfolios ahead of the earnings season in the coming weeks.
Business Post reports that 18 equities closed on the gainers’ chart on Thursday, while eight stocks finished on the losers’ end.
Champion Breweries was the highest gainer as its share price rose by 10.00 per cent to settle at N1.98, trailed by Coronation Insurance, which appreciated by 9.43 per cent to close at 58 kobo.
Lasaco Assurance improved by 7.91 per cent to N1.50, Berger Paints gained 7.69 per cent to sell for N7.70, while Mutual Benefits Assurance rose by 6.52 per cent to 49 kobo.
On the flip side, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance was the heaviest price loser as its share valued decreased during the session by 8.96 per cent to 61 kobo.
Unity Bank went down by 3.51 per cent to 55 kobo, Sterling Bank declined by 1.91 per cent to N1.54, International Breweries shed 1.82 per cent to close at N5.40, while Linkage Assurance dropped 1.79 per cent to 55 kobo.
As earlier stated, financial stocks attracted investors at the market yesterday, with Wema Bank closing as the most traded for transacting 27.2 million units worth N15.0 million.
Mutual Benefits Assurance traded 21.4 million units valued at N10.5 million, Zenith Bank exchanged 16.3 million units for N382.1 million, Sterling Bank traded 12.3 million units worth N18.8 million, while FBN Holdings transacted 7.9 million units valued at N57.1 million.
A total of 160.4 million stocks worth N1.4 billion were traded yesterday in 3,260 deals in contrast to the 302.7 million stocks worth N2.8 billion traded in 4,387 deals at the midweek session, indicating that the trading volume, value and the number of deals depreciated by 47.00 per cent, 50.34 per cent and 25.69 per cent respectively.
But when trading activities on the exchange were brought to an end for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 50.41 points to settle at 38,615.11 points compared with the previous 38,564.70 points.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation of the NGX went up by N27 billion to finish at N20.126 trillion compared with N20.099 trillion it ended at the preceding session.
Apart from the industrial goods counter, which depreciated by 0.02 per cent, and the energy index, which closed flat, every other sector closed positive.
The insurance space appreciated by 1.01 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.81 per cent, while the consumer goods sector went up by 0.18 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has unveiled a unified Taxpayer Identification (Tax ID) system for all taxable persons across the country as part of efforts to strengthen tax administration and improve transparency.
The agency announced the development in a public notice issued jointly with the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) on Monday.
According to the notice, the initiative is backed by Sections 6, 7, and 8 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, which mandate every taxable person in Nigeria to obtain a Tax ID, in a wider move to expand the country’s tax base.
The NRS said the new framework is designed to create a centralised and harmonised taxpayer database that would enhance interactions between taxpayers and revenue authorities at both federal and sub-national levels.
“The Tax ID will serve as a single, unified identity for all taxpayers, enabling seamless interaction with tax authorities at both federal and sub-national levels. It is designed to consolidate taxpayer records, eliminate duplication, and ensure more efficient management of tax-related information,” the agency stated.
The revenue agency explained that the new system would simplify tax compliance procedures, including taxpayer registration, filing of returns, and payment processes.
According to the NRS, the framework is also expected to improve accountability and reduce leakages in tax collection by creating better visibility and tracking of taxpayer information nationwide.
“The initiative will simplify tax compliance processes, including registration, tax filing, and payment procedures. The system will improve transparency by enabling better visibility and tracking of taxpayer records while reducing leakages and improving accountability in tax collection. The framework will also harmonise taxpayer information across all levels of government,” the notice added.
The agency further disclosed that the new Tax ID system would replace the existing Tax Identification Number (TIN) Validation API currently used by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), financial institutions, and other organisations for taxpayer verification.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three bellwether stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.31 per cent on Monday, May 18.
This brought the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 54.71 points to 4,133.70 points from 4,188.41 points, and shrank the market capitalisation by N32.73 billion to N2.473 trillion from N2.506 trillion.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc contracted by N12.45 to sell at N146.55 per share compared with last Friday’s closing price of N159.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N2.34 to N70.00 per unit from N72.34 per unit, and NASD Plc lost 50 Kobo to trade at N34.50 per share versus N35.00 per share.
The trio overpowered the N5.56 gained Newrest Asl Plc. This stock ended the trading session at N61.15 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N55.59 per unit.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by investors slid by 56.1 per cent to 514,142 units from 1.2 million units, and the value of securities dropped 29.8 per cent to close at N17.4 million versus N29.8 million, while the number of deals jumped 12.5 per cent to 27 deals from 24 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis 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 transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a horrible day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, May 15, as its value further weakened against the United States Dollar.
In the black market window, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,385/$1, but at the GTBank forex counter, it remained unchanged at N1,383/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N2.66 or 0.19 per cent to sell for N1,373.70/$1 compared to last Friday’s rate of N1,371.04/$1.
Equally, it fell against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.05 to trade at N1,839.66/£1 versus N1,830.61/£1, and lost N5.42 on the Euro to close at N1,600.49/€1 versus N1,595.07/€1.
The performance of the local currency during the session indicates early worries despite all signals pointing to stability, amid improved Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with steady, higher oil receipts to bolster the nation’s reserves.
Activity at the market showed that turnover rose 57.3 per cent to $76.29 million on Monday from $48.49 million posted on Friday.
Over the weekend, S&P raised Nigeria’s credit ratings for the first time since 2012 and highlighted improved FX market liquidity and $10 billion turnover recorded in April 2026 as one of the major gains of the CBN-led FX reforms.
The agency said the liberalisation of the exchange rate has bolstered access to foreign currency and enabled a market-driven exchange-rate environment while supporting investor and consumer confidence.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Monday as investors monitored developments in the Iran conflict and weighed the impact of surging oil prices on inflation and US interest-rate expectations.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $2,134.10, Cardano (ADA) rose by 0.6 per cent to $0.2515, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $85.11, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.2 per cent to $643.29, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.03 per cent to $0.3565, and Bitcoin (BTC) advanced by 0.02 per cent to $76,912.12.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.1044, and Ripple (XRP) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $1.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
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