Economy
Nigerian Equities Recover from Four-Day Sell-Offs, up by 1.72%
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigerian shares snapped a four-day losing streak on Thursday ahead of the Easter break, which begins tomorrow, to appreciate by 1.72 percent.
This came as earnings updates continued to impress investors, who had waited patiently for massive release of results today, being the last day for release of 2017 earnings as well as the last trading day of the month of March 2018.
Earlier results released by some market heavyweights had failed to inspire investors as most of them churned out what traders were already expecting with no surprises.
Business Post reports that today’s trading was positive with investors embarking on bargain hunting as they continue to pick up stocks, which had suffered price depreciation in the last four days due to sell-offs.
It was observed that gains recorded by stocks in the consumer goods, oil and gas and banking sectors were enough to overturn losses recorded by Lafarge, Zenith Bank and C&I Leasing.
At the close of business on Thursday, the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 702.43 points to settle at 41,504.51 points, while the market capitalisation finished at N14.993 trillion after increasing by N252.9 billion today.
In addition, the year-to-date returns expanded to 8.53 percent, but the market breadth ended negative with 23 stocks appreciating in value against 27 equities, which declined.
Nestle Nigeria led the gainers’ table today after adding N39.70k to its share value to close at N1380 per share.
It was trailed by Total Nigeria, which appreciated by N10.70k to finish at N249 per share, and Mobil Nigeria, which garnered N8.80k to end at N185.80k per share.
Dangote Cement rose by N7 to settle at N260 per share, while Nigerian Breweries increased by N2 to close at N130 per share.
On the flip side, Lafarge emerged the heaviest price loser, going down by N1.10k to settle at N45.30k per share.
It was followed by CCNN, which fell by 95k to close at N18.70k per share, and Zenith Bank, which went down by 50k to end at N29.30k per share.
Champion Breweries declined by 18k to finish at N2.40k per share, while C&I Leasing also lost 18k to wrap the day at N1.72k per share.
The total volume of shares traded today by investors declined sharply by 49 percent, while the value inched up slightly by two percent.
A total of 272.6 million shares exchanged hands in 4,368 deals worth N3.72 billion compared with the 535.2 million equities transacted the previous session in 4,717 deals valued at N3.66 billion.
Zenith Bank emerged the most active stock at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday, trading 45.3 million shares worth N1.4 billion.
It was followed by Skye Bank, which sold 33.9 million units valued at N26 million, and UBA, which exchanged 22.5 million equities for N263.5 million.
Fidelity Bank transacted 16.3 million shares for N41.9 million, while Access Bank sold 15.7 million units worth N175.7 million.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Transcorp Power Plc suffered declines in its revenue and profit in the first half of this year; details of the company’s financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2026, have revealed.
The losses were attributed to recurring transmission line vandalism, which materially constrained the organisation’s ability to evacuate available generation capacity.
Business Post reports that earnings contracted in the first six months of this year to N181.97 billion from the N205.81 billion recorded in the same period of last year, while profit before tax moderated to N54.99 billion from N58.73 billion.
However, on a year-to-date basis, total assets went up to N619.02 billion from N563.48 billion in December 2025, as shareholders’ funds grew to N189.34 billion from N183.40 billion in FY 2025, while retained earnings soared to N140.90 billion from N123.41 billion in FY 2025.
It was observed that the increase in receivables and borrowings largely drove the expansion in the balance sheet during the period.
Also, the firm’s gross margin expanded to 38.4 per cent from 34.7 per cent in H1 2025, operating margin increased to 30.6 per cent from 28.5 per cent, and PBT margin rose to 30.2 per cent from 28.5 per cent, reflecting cost optimisation efforts and disciplined financial management, positioning the company to continue delivering sustainable value for shareholders.
“Our H1 2026 performance is a reflection of the resilience of our business operations despite significant sector-wide existential challenges.
“Regrettably, recurring transmission line vandalisation materially constrained our ability to evacuate available generation capacity.
“Nonetheless, we continued to deliver strong profitability, maintain operational efficiency, and strengthen our balance sheet,” the chief executive of Transcorp Power, Mr Peter Ikenga, stated.
“We remain committed to working with relevant stakeholders to put an end to transmission line vandalisation and to further improving operational performance, power generation supply reliability, and creating sustainable value for our shareholders. We remain highly confident that we will recover lost ground in H1 2026 and finish FY 2026 stronger than FY 2025,” he added.
By Dipo Olowookere
A total of 2.819 billion stocks worth N182.499 billion exchanged hands in 226,729 deals on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week, in contrast to the 3.648 billion stocks valued at N220.568 billion transacted in 251,861 deals a week earlier.
From this, financial shares accounted for 2.006 billion units sold for N99.697 billion in 96,171 deals, contributing 71.17 per cent and 54.63 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Consumer goods equities traded 178.863 million units worth N7.872 billion in 26,637 deals, and energy stocks recorded a turnover of 151.237 million units valued at N38.309 billion in 16,879 deals.
First Holdco, FCMB, and Access Holdings accounted for 939.402 million units worth N57.673 billion in 19,051 deals, contributing 33.33 per cent and 31.60 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Business Post reports that the performance indicators were mixed in the five-day trading week, as the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 0.14 per cent to 243,462.13 points, while the market capitalisation appreciated by 0.39 per cent to N157.057 trillion.
All other indices finished higher except the main board, consumer goods, energy, Lotus II, industrial goods, growth, and sovereign bond indices, which fell by 1.54 per cent, 0.15 per cent, 0.11 per cent, 0.40 per cent, 6.26 per cent, 0.09 per cent, and 0.33 per cent, respectively, while the commodity index closed flat.
Forty-four shares gained weight in the week versus 60 shares of the preceding week, 35 equities depreciated versus 28 equities in the previous week, and 67 stocks closed flat versus 58 stocks of the earlier week.
The best-performing stock was First Holdco, which gained 38.66 per cent to trade at N95.95. Thomas Wyatt expanded by 27.16 per cent to N3.09, Fidelity Bank grew by 15.00 per cent to N21.85, Learn Africa grew by 14.44 per cent to N10.30, and UBA chalked up 10.98 per cent to close at N45.50.
The worst-performing stock was BUA Cement after giving up 18.99 per cent to quote at N275.60, Red Star Express shed 18.53 per cent to end at N20.00, International Energy Insurance declined by 15.27 per cent to N4.66, C&I Leasing dropped 13.28 per cent to N5.55, and PZ Cussons crashed by 10.06 per cent to N80.95.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc kept the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in the green territory by 0.04 per cent on Friday, July 16.
The securities depository company added N2.50 to its share price to settle at N95.14 per unit from the preceding session’s N92.64 per unit.
However, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc slid during the session by N5.85 to N141.81 per share from N147.66 per share.
But when the bourse closed for the day, the market capitalisation increased by N1.08 billion to N2.593 trillion from N2.592 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 1.80 points to 4,320.67 points from 4,318.87 points.
During the session, the value of securities slid by 38.9 per cent to N63.5 million from N104.1 million, the volume of securities went down by 34.5 per cent to 1.2 million units from 4.8 million units, and the number of deals declined by 15.4 per cent to 33 deals from 39 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 75.4 million units traded for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
