Economy
Meyer Closes as Best-Performing Stock as Market Rebounds 0.19%
By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed on a positive note on Tuesday with the bourse appreciating by 0.19 per cent to reverse the loss of the preceding session.
The growth was boosted by renewed bargain hunting, though the investor sentiment remained weak as the market breadth ended bearish with 20 price losers and 18 price gainers.
Meyer finished the session as the best-performing stock with a price appreciation of 8.86 per cent to 86 kobo, followed by Regency Assurance, which grew by 7.14 per cent to 30 kobo.
FTN Cocoa rose by 6.45 per cent to 33 kobo, Cutix appreciated by 5.85 per cent to sell for N2.17, while Caverton improved its equity value by 5.56 per cent to N1.33.
On the flip side, NPF Microfinance Bank ended the day as the worst-performing stock, losing 9.64 per cent to close at N2.25 and was trailed by Learn Africa, which dropped 9.14 per cent to N1.69.
In addition, Multiverse depreciated by 8.70 per cent to quote at 21 kobo, RT Briscoe went down by 6.67 per cent to 56 kobo, while NASCON declined by 5.43 per cent to N12.20.
At the bourse yesterday, Fidelity Bank recorded the highest trading volume, selling 67.4 million shares valued at N230.6 million and was followed by Transcorp, which sold 40.9 million stocks worth N41.4 million.
Coronation Insurance transacted 18.3 million equities worth N7.4 million, GTCO exchanged 15.3 million shares for N341.2 million, while Access Holdings traded 14.5 million stocks for N141.3 million.
From the analysis of the trading data, investors transacted a total of 257.4 million equities worth N2.3 billion in 4,410 deals as against the 219.5 million equities worth N1.9 billion transacted in 5,168 deals on Monday.
This showed that the volume of trades increased by 17.28 per cent, the value of transactions went up by 21.32 per cent, and the number of deals depreciated by 14.67 per cent.
Business Post reports that the banking and energy sectors appreciated during the session by 1.73 per cent and 1.42 per cent apiece, while the insurance, consumer goods and industrial goods counters depreciated by 0.93 per cent, 0.16 per cent and 0.05 per cent respectively.
As for the All-Share Index (ASI), it increased at the close of business by 89.52 points to 46,777.37 points from 46,687.85 points, while the market capitalisation expanded by N48 billion to N25.218 trillion from N25.170 trillion.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Thirty-one companies on Tuesday emerged as winners of the 2025 licensing round of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The energy firms competed to take control of 50 oil and gas blocks put on offer by the Nigerian government.
They were among the 143 companies that submitted 200 bids for the oil facilities drawn from diverse terrains, including the Niger Delta Onshore, Niger Delta Shallow Water, Niger Delta Deep Offshore, Benin Basin Onshore, Anambra Basin Onshore, Chad Basin Onshore and Benue Trough.
Business Post gathered that investors, however, were only interested in 37 out of the 50 oil blocks put up for sale by the NUPRC. This is the first time in Nigeria’s energy history that frontier basins would attract such a level of investor interest.
The organisations that won the bids include SSonic Petroleum Limited (PPL 2A29), CFP Pipeline and Flowlines (2A30), Dutchford E&P Limited (2A32), Attabanson Global Company Limited (2A33 and PPL 901), Rosem Energy Limited (2A38), Pivot-GIS Limited (2A39), Network E&P (2A40), Asharami (2A41), LexOil (2A42), BVOF (2A43), GupscoEnergy Limited (2A44 and 2A51), Saratoga (2A45), Volante (2A46), Concept-Reel Petroleum Services Limited (2A47 and 2A55), Clinton Oil Field (2A48 and 2A62) and Nuway Oaklane Limited (2A49).
Others are Ramec (2A50), Italia (2A53), Blueridge E&P (2A54), Up Energies Limited (2A56), AYM Shafa (2A57), Blackrock Holdings Limited (2A58), Funtay Integrated Business Limited (2A59), Riparian Development and Production Limited (2A60), Nikstallis (2A61 and PPL 900), Stardeep Petroleum (PPL 2010), Dakoda & U Limited (PPL308 and PPL 800), Southborne Oil and Gas Limited (PPL 902), Lanaka Petroleum (PPL 903) HighbanResources Limited (PPL 700), Eyre Energy Limited (PPL 801).
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices rose roughly 2 per cent on Tuesday as investors reacted to mounting concerns that escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran and threats by Yemen’s Houthis to blockade Saudi Arabia could disrupt global energy supplies.
Brent futures rose $1.79 or 2.0 per cent to $91.01 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.68 or 2.0 per cent to settle at $84.91 per barrel.
US forces bombed targets in the south and west of Iran while Iran targeted American sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan and at least one tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz.
Supply concerns resurfaced with the Strait essentially closed again and tanker traffic at multi-month lows, to the level from before the ceasefire between the US and Iran, which appears to be over at the moment.
Prices could go much higher if the renewed conflict drags on for a few more months, as the world has now drained a lot of the buffers that had kept oil surges in check between March and May.
Drained strategic and commercial inventories in many key oil-consuming economies, including the US, are setting the stage for further oil price rallies during the busiest oil demand season.
The just-declared Houthi blockade on Saudi maritime shipping has already begun to witness ill-effects, as reports emerge of two oil tankers having made U-turns while initially en route toward the Suez Canal. It was reported that their crews received threats from Houthi militants in Yemen.
The two oil tankers, which loaded Saudi crude for China and India, made U-turns in the Red Sea and headed toward the Suez following the warning from the militia.
Meanwhile, Kuwait’s power and desalination plants caught fire for a second straight day as US and Iran traded strikes for a tenth day.
As Russia’s war with Ukraine expands beyond Ukraine’s borders, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) has stopped receiving oil from Kazakhstan after suspending loadings on Monday due to attacks on oil tankers at its Black Sea terminal.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
