Economy
NASD Index Drops 0.18% in Week 42 After Aradel Exit
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Unlisted Security Index (USI) of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange decreased by 0.18 per cent or 5.45 basis points in the 42nd trading week of 2024, closing at 2,983.55 basis points, in contrast to Week 41’s 2,989.00 points.
Earlier in the week, Aradel Holdings Plc, which had been the market bellwether for most of the year, exited to seek greener pastures on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, shrinking the value of the platform by N3.05 trillion to N1.050 trillion from the N4.101 trillion quoted in the preceding week.
Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ended as the worst-performing stock after it shed 9.5 per cent to end at 19 Kobo per share compared with the previous week’s 21 Kobo per share.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 4.5 per cent to N22.00 per unit from N23.04 per unit, Nipco Plc declined by 4.3 per cent to N89.00 per share from N93.00 per share, Food Concepts Plc crashed by 2.2 per cent to N1.75 per unit from N1.79 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc depreciated by 0.8 per cent to end at N18.25 per share versus the preceding week’s N18.40 per share.
On the flip side, Acorn Petroleum Plc gained 32.5 per cent to settle at N2.65 per unit compared with the previous N2.00 per unit, Geo-Fluids grew by 16.2 per cent to N4.51 per share from N3.88 per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc expanded by 8.3 per cent to N1.95 per unit from N1.80 per unit, UBN Property Plc increased by 1.2 per cent to N1.67 per share from N1.65 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 0.02 per cent to N45.00 per unit from N44.99 per unit.
In the week, the volume of transactions went down by 97.9 per cent to 14.9 million units from 693.2 million units, the value of trades declined by 99.8 per cent to N0.8 billion from N42.60 billion, and the number of deals depreciated by 89.1 per cent to 144 deals from 1,311 deals in the previous week.
The busiest equity for the five-day trading week by value was Geo-Fluids Plc with N44 million, CSCS Plc followed with N17 million, Nipco Plc recorded N9 million, Acorn Plc posted N7 million, and Citi Trust Holdings Plc traded N7 million.
But by volume, Geo-Fluids Plc led with 10.6 million units, trailed by Acorn Petroleum Plc with 2.6 million units, CSCS Plc exchanged 0.763 million units, Citi Trust Holdings Plc transacted 0.195 million units, and Afriland Plc traded 0.124 million units.
Economy
OPEC+ Delays Oil Output Hke Until April, Extends Cuts Till 2026
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) has postponed plans to unwind several formal and voluntary crude production cuts into 2026.
The alliance agreed to extend the 2 million barrels per day and the 1.65 million barrels per day of cuts until the end of 2026 from the end of 2025, respectively, according to statements issued by the group on Thursday.
The gradual unwinding of 2.2 million barrels per day of cuts will start from April 2025 with monthly increases of 138,000 barrels per day and will last 18 months until September 2026.
The group had previously planned to unwind the 2.2 million cut over 12 months through monthly output increases of 180,000 barrels per day.
Under its formal output strategy, the broader OPEC+ coalition is now restricting its combined production to 39.725 million barrels per day until December 31, 2026, after previously only applying this quota throughout 2025.
Eight OPEC+ members, excluding Nigeria, will now extend their 2.2 million barrels per day voluntary production decline into the first quarter, and will begin hiking production incrementally between April and September 2026.
Several OPEC+ members will also be postponing the unwinding of the second 1.65 million barrels per day cut until the end of next year. This latter production decline was previously only set to last through 2025.
Despite these sets of production trims and ongoing conflict threatening the hydrocarbon-rich Middle Eastern region, global oil prices have remained subdued for the better part of this year, under pressure from a lukewarm demand outlook.
Market analysts also warned that the oil market will now shift focus to the actions of US President-elect Donald Trump, who when he takes office in January, could impose new sanctions on Iran, tariffs on China and has pledged an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Economy
Bitcoin Could Hit $200,000 Next Year, Ethereum $8,000—Analyst
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Head of Research at Derive.xyz, Mr Sean Dawson, has disclosed that the price of Bitcoin could potentially reach $200,000 next year.
On Wednesday, the token cross the elusive $100,000 threshold buoyed by renewed interest in the crypto market after Mr Donald Trump won the presidential election of the United States held on November 5, 2024.
Mr Trump, who is returning to the White House for the second term after he occupied it from 2017 to 2021, is a fan of the crypto landscape and it is believed that his return would favour the market.
In the analysis done by the world-leading onchain options DeFi protocol, it was stated BTC has the 18 per cent chance of shattering that ceiling.
“While Bitcoin hits a major milestone of reaching above $100,000 for the first time today (yesterday), optimism has surged on Derive.xyz, with an 18.7 per cent chance of BTC reaching $200,000 by September 26, 2025 – four-times higher since the US election,” Mr Dawson said in a note to Business Post.
“Ethereum is not far behind with an all-time high prediction of 23.6 per cent chance of reaching $8,000 by the same date.
“Current market dynamics also show a 10.5 per cent probability of Ethereum hitting $6,000 and a 6 per cent chance for Bitcoin to reach $150,000, both by January 31.
“The sharp increase in the 25 delta skews for Bitcoin to 8.8 per cent and 10.3 per cent for 7 and 30 days, respectively, compared to 24 hours ago, shows that traders are heavily favouring calls over puts to maximise on potential upward movements.
“Additionally, Bitcoin’s ATM implied volatility has reflected these expectations with a significant increase, peaking at 72 per cent recently, before adjusting to 61 per cent. This indicates anticipation of substantial price movements in the coming week.
“The heightened market activity and trader confidence are mirrored in Derive.xyz‘s performance, with our total value locked (TVL) reaching a new peak of $94.8 million. This milestone solidifies Derive.xyz’s position as a dominant player in the DeFi space, poised to leverage these optimistic market trends, as we move toward a TGE on January 15,” he added.
Economy
Senate Passes Investments, Securities Bill for Investor Protection
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Investments and Securities Bill 2024 has been passed by the Senate after it scaled the third reading at the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
The bill aims to protect investors at the Nigerian capital market as it blocks different forms of abuse, insider dealings, preventing unauthorised, illegal , unlawful, fraudulent and unfair trade practices relating to securities and investments.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, Mr Osita Izunaso, while presenting the bill to the parliament, disclosed that the repeal and enactment bill, when signed into law by the President, would further strengthen the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) carry sanitise the market.
According to him, the bill will “undoubtedly provide a significant opportunity to drive the growth of the capital market and diversification, thereby creating a conducive atmosphere for investors in the Nigerian capital market.
In addition, it will “address modern forms of financial malpractices and reinforce investors’ protection by engendering robust regulations around market abuses, insider trading and governance standards for publicly traded companies.”
He said, The bill envisages regulatory framework for digital currencies and fintech activities, including the supervision of blockchain and cryptocurrency transactions to support the integration of innovative technologies within the scope of the capital market.”
“The bill seeks to set a clear-cut delineation of roles amongst regulatory bodies in order foster transparency and reduce regulatory overlap, thereby enhancing the operational efficiency of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission;
“It seeks to support the introduction and regulation of diversified financial instruments, including derivatives, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and other sophisticated products, which are essential for meeting the needs of a broad investor base and increasing market depth,” he added.
Business Post reports that when signed into law, the new bill will repeal the existing Investments and Securities Act 2007.
-
Feature/OPED5 years ago
Davos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism8 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years ago
Estranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking6 years ago
Sort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years ago
Subsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years ago
First Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years ago
Highest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years ago
How To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN