Economy
NGX Upswing Slows to 0.06% as Investors Think Through Tinubu’s Policy Direction
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited marginally grew by 0.06 per cent on Wednesday as investors thought through the policy direction of the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
On Tuesday, the stock exchange witnessed an upswing of 5.22 per cent due to the assurance Mr Tinubu gave investors on Monday during his inauguration speech.
At the event held to swear him in as Nigeria’s 16th President, the former Governor of Lagos State said he would target at least 6 per cent GDP growth and unify the exchange rate regimes.
He also announced the removal of the petrol subsidy, which immediately triggered panic buying across the country.
Yesterday, many Nigerians suffered the ripple effect of this announcement, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited releasing a new pump price for its retail stations across the country. The energy firm said in Lagos, fuel would now sell for N488 per litre, and in other states in the Southwest region, it would go for N500/litre and N537/litre in Abuja.
This and others gave equity investors something to worry about, impacting the outcome of the bourse, as investor sentiment was weak, with 39 price losers and 30 price gainers.
Business Post reports that the financial services sector was bearish yesterday, with the insurance counter losing 2.52 per cent and the banking sector declining by 2.46 per cent.
Also, the industrial goods index went down by 0.19 per cent, while the consumer goods and the energy sectors closed higher by 2.08 per cent, and 1.63 per cent, respectively.
The All-Share Index (ASI) closed in the green territory in the midweek session after it rose by 30.93 points to 55,769.28 points from 55,738.35 points, while the market capitalisation grew by N17 billion to N30.367 trillion from N30.350 trillion.
The trio of Veritas Kapital, McNichols, and Jaiz Bank gained 10.00 per cent during the session to settle at 22 Kobo, 77 Kobo, and N1.21 apiece, as Conoil rose by 9.96 per cent to N57.95, and MRS Oil improved by 9.93 per cent to N44.85.
Conversely, NASCON shed 9.79 per cent to N15.20, RT Briscoe declined by 9.76 per cent to 37 Kobo, GSK dwindled by 9.58 per cent to N7.55, Caverton fell by 9.35 per cent to N1.26, and Deap Capital slipped by 9.09 per cent to 20 Kobo.
At the market on Wednesday, traders transacted 661.5 million shares worth N19.0 billion stocks in 10,024 deals, in contrast to the 1.1 billion shares worth N15.8 billion traded in 9,916 deals on Tuesday, representing a decline in the trading volume by 38.65 per cent, an increase in the trading value and the number of deals by 20.25 per cent, and 1.09 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings sold 98.7 million shares valued at N1.2 billion, UBA traded 90.2 million stocks worth N891.6 million, Zenith Bank transacted 44.5 million equities for N1.3 billion, GTCO exchanged 39.6 million stocks worth N1.1 billion, and Sterling Bank sold 34.2 million equities valued at N69.1 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.
During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.
Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.
As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.
During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 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 sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.
The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.
The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.
Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.
The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.
Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.
Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.
However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.
The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the market settling into a balance.
Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.
According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.
Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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