Economy
Market Sheds N58bn as Confidence in Banking Stocks Wanes
By Dipo Olowookere
The interest in equities in the banking sector is beginning to wane at the nation’s stock market and some investors have begun to offload them from their portfolios in order to reduce their exposure.
Business Post reports that at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday, the banking index emerged the biggest decliner as a result of selloffs in tier-one lenders.
At the close of transactions yesterday, the banking index went down by 1.59 percent, while the other loser, the consumer goods index, depreciated by 0.14 percent.
However, the insurance index appreciated by 1.21 percent, the industrial index went up by 1.00 percent, while the oil and gas index improved by 0.23 percent.
But the main market gauges, the All-Share Index (ASI), reduced yesterday by 118.11 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 27,306.81 points, while the market capitalisation shed N58 billion to settle at N13.307 trillion.
Dominating the losers’ chart yesterday was Zenith Bank. Stocks of the tier-one financial institution went down by 45 kobo to close at N16.35k each.
It was followed by GTBank, which reduced by 40 kobo to finish at N26.50k per unit, and UBA, which reduced in share value by 25 kobo to quote at N5.55k each.
UAC Nigeria also depreciated by 25 kobo on Friday to end at N5.50k per share, while Dangote Sugar depleted by 20 kobo to sell at N9.90k per unit.
At the other side, MTN Nigeria maintained its positive performance from the previous session to finish on Friday at N131 per share after appreciating by N1.45k.
Lafarge Africa gained 65 kobo to close at N15 per unit, while Custodian Investment appreciated by 50 kobo to settle at N6 per share.
In addition, Forte Oil improved its share price by 20 kobo yesterday to end at N17 per unit, while C&I Leasing gained 15 kobo to close at N6.20k per share.
On the activity chart, GTBank was the most traded stock, selling a total of 129.2 million units worth N3.5 billion.
Zenith Bank exchanged a total of 35 million shares worth N577.9 million, Transcorp transacted 10.2 million shares for N8.9 million, UBA traded 8.1 million equities valued at N45.1 million, while Sterling Bank traded 4.5 million shares for N9.8 million.
At the close of business yesterday, the volume of transactions by investors decreased by 21.04 percent to 220.8 million from 279.6 million, while the value of trades increased by 66.91 percent to N4.5 billion from N2.7 billion.
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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