Naira Loses N5 as Forex Hawkers Sell at N515/$1

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited commenced the first trading session in December 2023 on a bullish note, with a marginal growth of 0.08 per cent. Sustained buying pressure kept Nigerian stocks in the positive territory, extending the dominance of the bulls on Customs Street, though the turnover waned. Business Post observed that investors cherry-picked equities in the banking and the energy sectors during the session, leaving them rising by 1.14 per cent and 0.05 per cent, respectively. However, the insurance counter lost 1.10 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.08 per cent, and the industrial

By Adedapo Adesanya The return of the bears was averted at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Thursday by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which helped the alternative bourse close marginally higher by 0.03 per cent. This slight growth increased the value of the OTC exchange by N380 million, closing relatively flat at N1.165 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 0.27 points to end the day at 859.58 points compared with the previous day’s 859.31 points. During the trading day, the value of CSCS Plc went up by 8 Kobo to settle at N17.08

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil slumped by more than 2 per cent on Friday as traders showed scepticism about the depth of supply cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) as well as concerns about sluggish global manufacturing activity. Brent crude went down by $1.98 or 2.45 per cent to close at $78.88 a barrel as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.89 or 2.49 per cent to sell for $74.07 a barrel. For the week, Brent posted a decline of about 2.1 per cent, while WTI lost more than 1.9 per cent.

By Dipo Olowookere The last trading day of November 2023 on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a bullish note by 0.11 per cent on Thursday. Mild bargain-hunting in industrial goods equities like Lafarge Africa, supported by Airtel Africa, GTCO and other financial stocks left the market in the green territory at the close of business. Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 81.91 points to settle at 71,365.25 points compared with the preceding day’s 71,283.34 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N44 billion to N39.052 trillion from N39.008 trillion. Business Post reports that the

By Dipo Olowookere Federal Government has been urged to cautious of the proposed Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreement it plans to sign because of the likely negative impact on private businesses and the nation’s economy. President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Ayuba Wabba, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari not to be cajoled into signing the proposed bill. Mr Wabba warned that the probable outcome of the policy, if given life, may have a crippling effect on local businesses and attendant effects on jobs. “We have no doubt this policy initiative will spell the death knell of the

By Dipo Olowookere Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, has dismissed insinuations that the introduction of telecommunications companies into the banking sector would be a huge threat to the financial institution. While answering one of the questions asked by Business Post during an analyst call in Lagos on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Agbaje said he sees the likes of MTN Nigeria, Airtel Africa and others coming into the industry as competitors rather than enemies who could be seen as threats. “I would rather say the telcos are coming into the banking industry to make

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (Oyo SUBEB) has stressed that it has not started its recruitment process, warning job seekers to be careful of those claiming to be the board’s agents and promising them a slot in the state’s civil service. The Chairman of the organisation, Mr Nureni Adeniran, gave this warning in a statement to alert members of the public of those perpetrating recruitment scams with the sole intent of defrauding the innocent public. He distanced the agency from the purported list circulating on social media, advising the public to be vigilant and never

By Dipo Olowookere Treasury bills worth N823.5 billion would be offered for sale to investors in the first quarter of 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said. In the Nigerian Treasury Bills Issue Programme First Quarter 2019 released by the central bank, a total of N985.9 billion worth of the debt instruments will mature in the period under review. Business Post reports that the apex bank has already conducted the first sale of T-bills via primary market auction. This exercise was conducted on Wednesday, January 2, 2019 and it was oversubscribed by market players. In the calendar released

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to see further upside following the strength seen in the previous session. A batch of positive earnings news is likely to generate early buying interest, with several big name companies reporting better than expected quarterly results. With traders reacting positively to earnings and economic news, stocks moved notably higher over the course of the trading session on Monday. The major averages added to the strong gains posted last week. The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory but off

Major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday following the mixed performance seen in the previous session. The downward momentum on Wall Street comes as traders continue to digest the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday. Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading session on Wednesday before ending the session mixed. The narrow Dow climbed to a new record closing high. The Dow rose 46.09 points or 0.2 percent to 21,374.56, while the Nasdaq fell 25.48 points or 0.4 percent to 6,194.89 and the S&P

By Dipo Olowookere Investment in equities in Nigeria shrank last week following the public holiday declared by the federal government last Monday to mark June 12 Democracy Day. Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that in the four-day trading week, investors only traded 981.2 million shares worth N10.4 billion in 15,001 deals as against the 1.1 billion shares worth N12.8 billion transacted in 17,854 deals the preceding week. If not for the holiday, the turnover would have increased in the week as market participants traded an average of 245.3 million stocks worth N2.6 billion in 3,750 deals. Business

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) further depreciated on Wednesday amid sell-offs on many counters across different sectors of the market. The equity market suffered a 0.26 percent loss at the close of trading today, pulling back the year-to-date returns to 6.55 percent. For the market indices today, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 105.78 points to settle at 40,749.86 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N38.2 billion to close for the day at N14.720 trillion. The NSEIND and NSEOILG5 were the only sector indices which traded positive, with gains of 0.59 percent and 0.07 percent respectively.