Economy
Nigerian Shares Attract N38.445bn from Investors, Traders in One Week
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market opened last week for four days as result of the public holiday observed in Nigeria last Monday to celebrate Eid-el-Maulud.
This slightly affected the level of activity at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited during the four-day trading week.
A total of 1.860 billion shares worth N38.445 billion exchanged hands in 40,228 deals in the period under review compared with the 2.584 billion shares valued at N51.205 billion traded in 50,615 deals a week earlier.
Japaul, FBN Holdings and UAC Nigeria were the busiest equities on the NGX in the week, accounting for 728.034 million units valued at N10.029 billion transacted in 4,374 deals, contributing 39.14 per cent and 26.09 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
In terms of sectors, the financial services counter topped the activity chart with 820.815 million stocks worth N16.149 billion in 16,627 deals, contributing 44.13 per cent and 42.01 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece, the energy index followed with 443.711 million equities worth N5.055 billion in 5,319 deals equities, and the conglomerates industry traded 183.729 million shares worth N2.971 billion in 2,510 deals.
Forty-one stocks appreciated last week compared with 52 equities of the previous week, 40 equities depreciated versus 31 equities a week earlier, and 70 shares remained unchanged versus 68 shares of the preceding were.
Caverton was the best-performing stock of the week with a price appreciation of 45.28 per cent to settle at N3.69, Fidelity Bank rose by 24.20 per cent to N13.60, Fidson appreciated by 21.76 per cent to N15.95, Vitafoam gained 21.55 per cent to quote at N22.00, and Meyer jumped by 20.93 per cent to N7.05.
Conversely, Northern Nigerian Flour Mills was the worst-performing equity after an 18.97 per cent loss to trade at N35.25, Mecure Industrial shrank by 18.18 per cent to close at N7.65, Tantalizers declined by 14.08 per cent to settle at 61 Kobo, RT Briscoe depleted by 12.88 per cent to N3.18, and Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund slumped by 9.93 per cent to N101.60.
In the week, the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation appreciated by 0.81 per cent to 98,247.99 points and N56.457 trillion, respectively.
Also, all other indices finished higher apart from NGX MERI Value, consumer goods, industrial goods, growth and sovereign bond indices, which depreciated 0.34 per cent, 0.77 per cent, 0.13 per cent, 10.85 per cent, and 3.59 per cent, respectively, as the ASeM index remained unchanged.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth 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 valued at N415.7 million.
