Economy
Nigerian Exchange Rallies 1.08%
By Dipo Olowookere
The bulls tightened their grip on the local bourse by 1.08 per cent on Thursday as investors mopped up shares selling at attractive prices.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) rebounded after enduring a series of losses due to a special interest of the United States in the incessant attacks on Christians in the country by some alleged Islamic terrorists.
However, clarity in the implementation of the controversial capital gains tax (CGT) by the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, on Tuesday, triggered a fresh round of buying pressure.
Yesterday, apart from the industrial goods space, which lost 0.09 per cent and the commodity index, which closed flat, every other sector ended in green.
The insurance counter appreciated by 4.58 per cent, the banking industry improved by 3.80 per cent, the consumer goods space rose by 1.73 per cent, and the energy sector grew by 0.65 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 1,577.34 points to 146,981.17 points from 145,403.83 points and the market capitalisation soared by N1.003 trillion to N93.481 trillion from N92.478 trillion.
Linkage Assurance advanced by 10.00 per cent to N1.76, Custodian Investment also surged by 10.00 per cent to N38.50, Oando increased by 9.97 per cent to N43.55, Legend Internet expanded by 9.96 per cent to N5.74, and NAHCO jumped by 9.96 per cent to N106.55.
Conversely, Austin Laz lost 9.96 per cent to sell for N2.35, Union Dicon declined by 9.68 per cent to N7.00, Sterling Holdings shed 5.81 per cent to N7.30, NGX Group crashed by 5.31 per cent to N52.60, and Guinness Nigeria depleted by 5.14 per cent to N166.00.
Business Post reports that 55 equities ended on the advancers’ chart and 10 equities finished on the decliners’ table, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
However, the level of activity was lower than the preceding session as the trading volume, value, and number of deals went down by 25.63 per cent, 53.32 per cent and 3.40 per cent, respectively.
This was because traders transacted 599.7 million shares worth N22.7 billion in 23,675 deals during the trading day versus the 806.4 million shares valued at N50.8 billion traded in 24,509 deals at midweek.
Wema Bank was the busiest yesterday with 98.4 million units sold for N2.0 billion, UBA transacted 53.0 million units worth N2.2 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 50.9 million units valued at N1.2 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 41.2 million units for N784.0 million, and Zenith Bank transacted 40.8 million units valued at N2.6 billion.
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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