Economy
NGX Rises 0.02% as Interim Dividend Hunters Return
By Dipo Olowookere
The return of interim dividend hunters to the market further pushed the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited higher by 0.02 per cent at the close of transactions on Friday.
It was the first trading session of the new month of July 2022 and investors are expecting half-year results of companies on the exchange, especially those in the banking space, the tier-1 specifically, which usually declare interim dividends.
Business Post observed that there were buying interests in Access Holdings and Zenith Bank, though GTCO and UBA came under selling pressure, which depleted their share prices.
But when the market closed for the session, the All-Share Index (ASI) was higher by 12.08 points as it ended at 51,829.67 points compared with the previous day’s 51,817.59 points.
In the same vein, the total value of equities on the platform increased by N7 billion to N27.942 trillion from the N27.935 trillion it closed a day earlier.
The investor sentiment remained positive as there were 16 depreciating stocks and 20 appreciating stocks led by The Initiates, which rose by 10.00 per cent to 44 Kobo. Cutix expanded by 9.78 per cent to N2.47, Linkage Assurance moved higher by 9.62 per cent to 57 Kobo, John Holt grew by 9.33 per cent to 82 Kobo, while Caverton chalked up 8.82 per cent to sell for N1.11.
On the flip side, Courteville lost 7.84 per cent to trade at 47 Kobo, NAHCO fell by 5.88 per cent to N8.00, Cadbury Nigeria went down by 5.51 per cent to N16.30, Neimeth declined by 3.87 per cent to N1.49, while UPDC went down by 3.74 per cent to N1.03.
The market was relatively quiet yesterday as investors only transacted 127.0 million shares worth N1.7 billion in 3,718 deals as against the 223.1 million shares worth N3.9 billion transacted in 4,213 deals on Thursday, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 43.06 per cent, 55.93 per cent and 11.75 per cent respectively.
GTCO was the busiest stock as it traded 23.5 million units valued at N480.3 million, UBA sold 22.2 million units for N165.6 million, Sterling Bank exchanged 7.4 million units worth N11.1 million, Oando transacted 7.3 million units worth N40.1 million, while FBN Holdings traded 6.0 million units valued at N67.5 million.
During the session, the insurance space grew by 1.23 per cent, the banking ecosystem expanded by 0.36 per cent, the industrial goods sector appreciated by 0.04 per cent, while the energy and the consumer goods counters depreciated by 0.39 per cent and 0.01 per cent.
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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