Economy
Market Loses N278bn as Investors Offload BUA Cement Stocks, Others
By Dipo Olowookere
It was a bad day for stock investors in Nigeria on Friday as the gains posted a day earlier was quickly erased as a result of the 1.37 per cent loss recorded at the session.
This decline was mainly buoyed by the selling pressure on industrial goods stocks led by BUA Cement, contributing chiefly to the 4.40 per cent depreciation suffered by its sector’s index.
Combined with the 0.22 per cent decline recorded by the energy index, they outweighed the growth printed by the banking (2.80), insurance (0.94) and the consumer goods (0.08) counters yesterday.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 532.45 points to 38,382.39 points from 38,914.84 points, while the market capitalisation depleted by N278 billion to N20.082 trillion from N20.360 trillion.
Price movement chart
During the session, Lasaco Assurance topped the losers’ chart after its share price went down by 6.92 per cent to N1.21 and was deputised by BUA Cement, which lost 6.42 per cent to trade at N69.95.
Neimeth depreciated by 6.32 per cent to N1.78, Courtville went down by 4.76 per cent to 20 kobo, while Oando declined by 4.39 per cent to N3.05.
At the other end. Ikeja Hotel topped the gainers’ log after its equity price appreciated by 10.00 per cent to trade at N1.10, with Eterna trailed after its value grew by 9.84 per cent to N5.58.
United Capital gained 7.37 per cent to close at N5.10, Union Bank appreciated by 4.95 per cent to N5.30, while Africa Prudential gained 4.90 per cent to sell at N5.35.
Activity table
Business Post reports that apart from the number of deals, which improved by 6.71 per cent to 4,311 deals from 4,040 deals, the other parameters of the activity chart closed lower.
The trading volume reduced on Friday by 80.21 per cent to 290.6 million units from 1.5 billion units, the trading value went down by 31.36 per cent to N4.0 billion from N5.9 billion.
Zenith Bank was the darling of investors during the trading day as it transacted 66.1 million shares valued at N1.5 billion.
Unity Bank transacted 51.8 million stocks for N37.3 million, GTBank exchanged 39.4 million equities for N1.2 billion, AIICO Insurance traded 26.8 million shares for N33.2 million, while Access Bank transacted 12.7 million stocks worth N101.1 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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