Economy
NGX Falls by 1.27% as Traders ‘Protest’ CBN Rate Hike
By Dipo Olowookere
The decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to push the anchor interest rate higher by 4.00 per cent to 22.75 per cent from 18.75 per cent on Tuesday had a toll on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday.
Yesterday, the stock market lost 1.27 per cent after investors cut down their exposure to equities in reaction to the monetary policy announcement of the apex bank a day earlier.
The bourse suffered selling pressure during the session, seeing all the major sectors closing in the red territory, with the banking index falling by 6.90 per cent.
The insurance sector went down by 3.72 per cent, consumer goods space depreciated by 1.20 per cent, and industrial goods counter declined by 0.411 per cent, while the energy space closed flat.
The profit-taking pulled down the All-Share Index (ASI) by 1,280.32 points to 99,302.57 points from 100,582.89 points, and the market capitalisation contracted by N701 billion to N54.337 trillion from N55.038 trillion.
Business Post reports that only five stocks ended on the gainers’ table in the midweek session led by PZ Cussons, which appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N29.15.
Juli rose by 9.93 per cent to N3.10, AXA Mansard grew by 1.53 per cent to N5.30, NAHCO expanded by 0.69 per cent to N29.00, and NPF Microfinance Bank jumped by 0.55 per cent to N1.84.
Yesterday, the NGX recorded 52 price losers led by Wema Bank, Oando, Nigerian Breweries, The Initiates, and Red Star Express, which lost 10.00 per cent each to settle at N7.02, N9.90, N30.60, N1.80, and N3.42, respectively.
This showed that investor sentiment was grossly weak and the market breadth index was negative.
A total of 396.2 million equities worth N5.8 billion were transacted in 10,549 deals compared with the 280.5 million equities worth N6.1 billion exchanged in 9,141 deals on Tuesday, indicating a fall in the trading value by 4.92 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and the number of deals by 41.25 per cent and 15.40 per cent, respectively.
Transcorp topped the activity chart as the most active after trading 52.6 million shares valued at N675.6 million, UBA traded 39.5 million equities worth N823.9 million, Access Holdings exchanged 35.3 million shares valued at N620.9 million, Zenith Bank sold 30.9 million stocks for N1.0 billion, and Universal Insurance traded 23.2 million equities worth N8.1 million.
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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