Economy
Nigerian Equities Lose 0.66% on Selloffs in High-Cap Stocks
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another day in red for the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as selloffs in highly capitalized stocks like Dangote Cement and MTN Nigeria pushed the market downward further by 0.66 percent on Thursday.
The announcement of a N1 per share interim dividend by Stanbic IBTC Holdings for the half year ended June 30, 2019 did nothing to push the market northwards and at the close of day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 181.45 points to settle at 27,425.57 points, while the market capitalization decreased by N88.3 billion to close at N13.342 trillion.
Dangote Cement was the heaviest price loser yesterday with a price depreciation of N3 to finish at N162.50k per share, while MTN Nigeria trailed with a loss of N2.10k to close at N138.85k per unit.
Unilever Nigeria depreciated by N1 to end at N28 per share, Flour Mills went down by 80 kobo to close at N13.50k per unit, while UAC Nigeria fell by 45 kobo to close at N4.55k per share.
Conversely, Nestle Nigeria stayed as the highest price gainer, appreciating by N5 to finish at N1245 per share, while Forte Oil followed with a gain of N1.05k to close at N16.45k per share.
Total Nigeria improved by 60 kobo to end at N97.10k per share, Africa Prudential rose by 30 kobo to close at N3.80k per share, while FBN Holdings chalked up 15 kobo to settle at N4.95k per share.
Business Post reports that at the close of transactions on the NSE on Thursday, the market breadth ended positive with 18 price gainers and 14 price losers.
But despite this, the activity level was low with the volume and value of trades going down by 12.05 percent and 45.14 percent respectively.
A total of 111.6 million shares worth N1.6 billion exchanged hands on the floor of the NSE yesterday in contrast with the 126.9 million units worth N2.9 billion of the previous session.
Dominating these transactions were Zenith Bank, which sold 19.1 million units of its shares valued at N353.5 million, and Lafarge Africa, which traded 17.7 million equities worth N250.7 million.
Access Bank exchanged 15.0 million shares for N96.9 million, Neimeth transacted 7.0 million shares for N3.3 million, while GTBank traded 5.8 million equities worth N155.8 million.
An analysis of the performance of the various sectors on Thursday showed a mixture of red and green.
The insurance sector was the highest gainer with 1.83 percent, while the oil and gas followed after rising by 0.10 percent, with the banking index closing 0.09 percent higher. However, the industrial goods sector fell by 0.74 percent, while the consumer goods industry depreciated by 0.19 percent.
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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