Economy
Nigerian Equities Sustain Upward Trend With N70b Gain
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The positive momentum, which returned on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday, mainly influenced by Nestle, was again retained today also by gains recorded by Nestle at the market.
Business Post reports that at the close of transactions on Thursday, investors posted a gain of N70 billion, further boosting their confidence that the week might eventually end positive tomorrow.
Unlike yesterday, the volume of transactions and market turnover increased today with 128.3 million shares transacted by investors in 3,241 deals worth N2.7 billion, compared with 119.9 million shares traded on Wednesday in 3,015 deals valued at N1.8 billion.
A larger percentage of those trades were dominated by banking stocks with Zenith Bank emerging the most active, exchanging 20.2 million shares worth N451.8 million.
It was trailed by GTBank, which traded 19 million shares at N724.5 million, and Skye Bank, which moved 10.5 million shares worth N5.4 million.
FBN Holdings transacted 7.3 million shares at N42 million, while Jaiz Bank sold 7.1 million shares valued at N4.7 million.
On the price movement chart, Nestle topped the gainers’ log with N15 added to its share value to settle at N1205 per share.
Dangote Cement rose by N4.99k to finish at N213.99k per share, while Okomu Oil grew by N3.61k to end at N66.50k per share.
Flour Mills of Nigeria advanced by 50k to close at N27 per share, and Nigerian Breweries moved up by 49k to finish at N180.55k per share.
On the flip side, Total Plc went down by N2.90k to settle at N232.10k per share, while Unilever lost N2.20k to finish at N41.80k per share.
In the same vein, ConOil fell by N1.45k to close at N27.55k per share, Zenith Bank depreciated by 55k to end at N22.20k per share, and International Breweries shed 47k to wrap the day at N37.53k per share.
Business Post also reports that when market activities were brought to a halt on Thursday, the year-to-date was pushed forward to 32.69 percent following 0.55 percent rise recorded by the NSE, while the All-Share Index (ASI) grew by 195.7 points to settle at 35,660.04 points.
In addition, the market capitalisation increased by N70 billion to close at N12.3 trillion, while the market breath still remained negative like yesterday, closing today with 16 gainers and 22 losers.
Business Post observed that investors are treading cautiously at the market as they look forward to the release of third quarter earnings of listed stocks next month.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active 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 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 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 sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, July 13, at N1,379.65/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.44 to exchange at N1,848.18/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,850.62/£1, and lost 73 Kobo against the Euro to sell at N1,576.39/€1 versus last Friday’s N1,575.66/€1.
At the GTBank fore counter, the Naira declined by N2 to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s rate of N1,386/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,400/$1.
Market analysts expect the Naira to trade within a relatively stable range, supported by sustained FX inflows and a continued market intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), although persistent underlying FX demand is likely to keep depreciation pressures elevated.
According to Monday’s trading data, interbank FX turnover surged by 21.14 per cent to $86.136 million from $71.044 million at the previous trading session on Friday.
However, interbank deal counts declined to 85 from 87 on Monday, reflecting the absence of pressure from US Dollar payments against local units. Last week, total foreign exchange inflows amounted to $0.97 billion, according to a Coronation Merchant Bank research report.
Analysts reported that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained the largest source of inflows, contributing 30.29% or $0.29 billion, closely followed by Exporters and Importers at 30.14 per cent.
Non-bank corporates accounted for 26.49 per cent or $0.26 billion, while the CBN contributed 6.93 per cent or $0.07 billion. Other sources made up the remaining 5.4 per cent of total inflows.
In the cryptocurrency market, major coins came under pressure following heightened expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase as soon as July, just ahead of key US inflation data and congressional testimony from Chairman Kevin Warsh came into focus.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.2 per cent to $62,627.03, Solana (SOL) dipped by 1.5 per cent to $75.18, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3248, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $1.06, and Cardano (ADA) lost 0.6 per cent to close at $0.1589.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.5 per cent to $1,784.26, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.2 per cent to $0.073, and Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $569.23, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent jumped to $83 per barrel on Monday after the United States announced a fresh blockade that reignited concerns over energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
The international crude benchmark soared by $7.29 or 9.59 per cent to $83.30 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $6.73 or 9.42 per cent to trade at $78.14 a barrel.
US President Donald Trump announced that he would reinstate a blockade on Iran, forcing traders to once again price in the risk of prolonged disruption to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade, due to begin on Tuesday, will cover Iran’s entire coastline, ports and oil terminals, as well as all vessels regardless of flag.
The US President also said vessels receiving protection while transiting Hormuz would reimburse the country through a 20 per cent charge on cargoes, Reuters reported.
President Trump’s idea would mean that a 20 per cent fee on a supertanker that carries about 2 million barrels of crude at $80 per barrel would be equivalent to around $32 million, or an additional cost of $16 per barrel.
“This is significantly higher than the $1/bbl toll for which Iran has been pushing,” ING’s strategists said.
The proposal was also criticised by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) because international law does not provide for mandatory transit fees through straits used for international navigation. Energy companies have also rejected similar proposals previously advanced by Tehran, arguing that freedom of navigation remains a cornerstone of global maritime trade.
Iran’s top joint military command had earlier said it would not allow the US to intervene in the management of the strait, and any attempt by the US to transit without its authorisation would be confronted.
Analysts now expect countries to work on ways to permanently bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Goldman Sachs estimated that expanding pipeline capacity in the Middle East could shield more than 60 per cent of pre-war Gulf oil exports from any future Hormuz disruptions by the end of 2028.
The bank’s base-case forecast assumes pipeline capacity bypassing Hormuz will rise by 3.8 million barrels per day by end-2027 and 7.3 million barrels per day cumulatively by end-2028, taking total effective bypass capacity to more than 14 million barrels per day by end-2028.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has trimmed its 2026 global oil demand growth forecast for the third straight month, even as crude production rebounds across the Gulf and tanker traffic slowly returns to the Strait of Hormuz.
In its monthly oil market report released Monday, OPEC lowered expected oil demand growth this year to 780,000 barrels per day, down another 190,000 barrels per day from last month’s forecast. The producer group still expects stronger consumption than many other forecasters, including the International Energy Agency, and even raised its demand growth estimate for 2027 by 210,000 barrels per day to 1.94 million barrels per day.
