Economy
Nigerian Stock Exchange Survives Early Scare to Close 0.87% Higher
By Dipo Olowookere
What looked like the first loss in nine consecutive sessions at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was averted on Thursday after stocks in the consumer goods and industrial goods sectors took control of the market from their banking counterpart.
Earlier in the day, the market was walking “through the valley of the shadow of death,” no thanks to banking equities, which was experiencing selloffs from investors.
However, buying interests in Dangote Cement, Nestle Nigeria and others boosted the NSE’s immunity against loss by 0.87 percent.
The last time the exchange ‘tasted defeat’ was on April 23, 2020, when it closed lower by 1.36 percent.
At the close of transactions on Thursday, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 210.88 points to settle at 24,354.25 points, while the market capitalisation went up by N110 billion to N12.692 trillion from N12.582 trillion.
Business Post reports that apart from the banking index, which closed lower by 1.98 percent, other sectors closed higher.
The consumer goods space gained 2.37 percent, the industrial goods sector appreciated by 1.96 percent, the insurance counter improved by 0.93 percent, while the energy sector gained 0.57 percent.
It was observed that the market breadth closed positive yesterday with 21 price advancers and 20 price decliners.
Nestle Nigeria was the best performing stock, gaining N25 to settle at N1000 per unit, while Dangote Cement trailed for adding N6.20 to its share value to sell at N150 each.
Nigerian Breweries appreciated by N1.90 to trade at N34.90 per share, Conoil improved by N1.70 to quote at N19.10 per share, while Ardova maintained its bull run by rising by N1.35 to sell at N15.30 per unit.
Conversely, Guinness Nigeria closed as the worst performing equity, losing 65 kobo to sell at N18.30 per share.
Zenith Bank lost 60 kobo yesterday to trade at N15.20 per share, GTBank fell by 45 kobo to quote at N22.50 per unit, Lafarge Africa depreciated by 25 kobo to trade at N10.90 per share, while FBN Holdings deflated by 20 kobo to N4.70 per share.
A total of 431.6 million equities worth N5.3 billion exchanged hands in 5,860 deals on Thursday compared with the 426.6 million stocks valued at N4.1 billion transacted in 7,384 deals on Wednesday.
This indicated that while the volume and value of transactions went up by 1.16 percent and 28.24 percent respectively, the number of deals went down by 20.64 percent.
FBN Holdings was the most attractive to investors, selling 115.6 million units worth N543.1 million, while Zenith Bank traded 75.9 million equities valued at N1.1 billion.
In addition, GTBank exchanged 54.9 million stocks for N1.2 billion, Ecobank transacted 39.6 million shares for N197.3 million, while Mutual Benefits Assurance sold 31.0 million stocks valued at N6.4 million.
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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