Economy
MTN Nigeria, 12 Others Stab Stock Market by 0.53%
By Dipo Olowookere
Investors at the nation’s stock market were left in severe pain on Tuesday after they had expected that the market would maintain the positive momentum it recorded at Monday’s trading session.
But activities of profit takers did not let this dream come true as selloffs in stocks like MTN Nigeria, GTBank, UBA, Lafarge Africa and eight others inflicted a cut of about 0.58 percent deep on the exchange at the close of transactions.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) reduced by 140.06 points to 26,244.39 points from 26,384.45 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N68 billion to N12.776 trillion from N12.844 trillion.
MTN Nigeria, which was the heaviest price loser, went down by N2.05 to finish at N126.95 per unit, while GTBank followed with a loss of 70 kobo to close at N25.50 per share.
Lafarge Africa went down by 60 kobo to settle at N14.35 per unit, while NAHCO and UBA lost 10 each to close at N2.35 per share and N5.75 per share respectively.
At the other side, the gainers’ chart had 10 members on Tuesday, with GlaxoSmithKline leading the pack after adding 50 kobo to its share price to close at N6.30 per unit.
Red Star Express gained 40 kobo to close at N4.45 per unit, Nigerian Breweries appreciated by 20 kobo to end at N46.25 per unit, Africa Prudential rose by 8 kobo to finish at N3.90 per share, while AIICO Insurance improved by 6 kobo to close at 69 kobo per share.
Like in the previous session, the activity chart remained mixed with the volume of transactions going down by 44.87 percent as well as the number of deals, which dropped by 23.15 percent, while the value of the trades increased by 156.66 percent.
A total of 267.9 million shares worth N2.8 billion were traded by investors yesterday in 2,967 deals in contrast to the 485.9 million equities valued at N1.1 billion exchanged the previous day in 3,861 deals.
Banking stocks were very busy on Tuesday as they dominated the activity log, with FCMB topping the table with 51.6 million units of its shares sold for N82.5 million.
Zenith Bank traded 43.1 million units worth N732.0 million, GTBank exchanged 42.3 million valued at N1.1 billion, Access Bank transacted 37.2 stocks for N272.0 million, while Sterling Bank traded 34.8 million shares valued at N68.0 million.
An analysis by Business Post of the five major sectors at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated three of them closed bearish, while the two others finished bullish.
The banking, energy and industrial goods sectors closed lower by 0.94 percent, 0.16 percent and 0.95 percent respectively, while insurance and the consumer goods indices finished higher by 0.77 percent and 0.08 percent respectively.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
