Economy
Nigerian Exchange Index Skyrockets to 54,085.30 points After 1.76% Rise
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another fantastic day at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as the recent bullish run witnessed lately continued after a short disruption caused by the raising of the interest rate to 13.0 per cent from 11.5 per cent by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday.
Yesterday, the stock market appreciated further by 1.76 per cent on the back of renewed interest in local equities buoyed by the release of the much-awaited financial statements of FBN Holdings Plc for the 2021 fiscal year.
At the exchange on Friday, the All Share Index (ASI) skyrocketed by 933.98 points to 54,085.30 points from 53,151.32 points, while the market capitalisation jumped by N504 billion to N29.158 trillion from the preceding day’s N28.654 trillion.
The gains were influenced by sustained buying pressure in shares in the banking, insurance, energy and industrial goods sectors, which appreciated by 0.48 per cent, 0.32 per cent, 0.24 per cent and 0.01 per cent respectively, while the consumer goods counter depreciated by 2.41 per cent due to sell-offs in Nigerian Breweries, UAC Nigeria and others.
During the session, investors traded 208.1 million equities valued at N5.5 billion in 4,898 deals compared with the 266.2 million equities worth N5.1 billion transacted in 5,501 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 21.83 per cent and 10.96 per cent respectively and an increase in the trading value by 7.92 per cent.
Cutix was the highest price gainer yesterday as its value went up by 9.96 per cent to N2.87, Airtel Africa appreciated by 9.89 per cent to N1,767.00, Wema Bank gained 8.63 per cent to finish at N3.65, Ardova improved by 7.09 per cent to N15.10, while FBN Holdings increased its value by 6.98 per cent to N11.50.
On the other side of the coin, the heaviest price loser was Nigerian Breweries as it deflated by 10.00 per cent to N69.30, UAC Nigeria reduced by 9.87 per cent to N10.50, University Press declined by 9.52 per cent to N2.85, Royal Exchange went down by 9.26 per cent to 98 kobo, while Linkage Assurance depleted by 6.67 per cent to 56 kobo.
Business Post reports that the market breadth was at equilibrium on Friday as there were 19 appreciating stocks and 19 depreciating stocks.
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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