Economy
Nigerian Stock Market Bleeds as NASS Saga Scares Investors
By Dipo Olowookere
The invasion of the National Assembly (NASS) by security operatives on Tuesday morning took its toll on the Nigerian stock market today.
The situation dominated the blogosphere and polity today as some lawmakers were prevented from gaining access into the complex because officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) mounted the main gate to the parliament.
Later in the day, the Director General of the DSS, Mr Lawal Daura, was fired by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, over the issue.
Business Post reports that at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), it was all red from when the market opened for business till when it closed for the day.
During the day’s trading, some investors, who were keeping tabs on happenings in Abuja, were selling off their stocks for cash, while few were stocking up their portfolio, taking advantage of the very low price they were getting the shares from panicking sellers.
At the close of transactions, the stock market suffered a 0.40 percent loss, leaving the Year-to-Date (YtD) gain to -4.99 percent.
Business Post reports further that the banking sector as well as the oil and gas sector suffered huge losses today. While the banking index declined by 1.08 percent, the oil and gas index depreciated by 4.69 percent.
Overall, the All-Share Index (ASI) lost 145.62 points to close at 36,333.80 points, while the market capitalization reduced by N53 billion to settle at N13.262 trillion.
However, the market breadth ended positive today with the stock market closing with 23 price gainers and 21 price losers.
The price gainers’ chart was led on Tuesday by Nigerian Breweries after its shares rose by N2.10k to settle at N103 per share.
It was followed by Flour Mills, which increased by 90 kobo to finish at N25.50k per share, and Newrest ASL Nigeria, which grew by 45 kobo to end at N4.95k per share.
Cadbury Nigeria also garnered 45 kobo to close at N9.95k per share, while United Capital appreciated by 28 kobo to settle at N3.08k per share.
On the flip side, Seplat recorded the highest price depreciation today with N60 of its share value lost to close at N650 per share.
CAP declined by N3.15k to finish at N28.35k per share, while GTBank lost 85 kobo to settle at N39.15k per share.
Lafarge fell by 60 kobo to end at N29.90k per share, while Forte Oil went down by 55 kobo to close at N23 per share.
Business Post reports that the volume of shares transacted by investors today increased by 36.07 percent, while the value of trades rose by 10.43 percent.
At the close of business, a total of 248.1 million shares were sold for N2.3 billion compared with the 182.3 million equities traded yesterday for N2 billion.
A further look at the transactions showed that the Financial Services sector led the activity chart with 207.2 million shares traded for N1.6 billion, while the Healthcare sector followed with 14.7 million equities sold for N7 million.
A deeper look at the activity chart showed that Wema Bank shares emerged the most traded, selling a total of 53.5 million units worth N37.5 million.
It was followed by GTBank, which transacted 23.4 million units for N925.1 million, and United Bank for Africa, which exchanged 22.2 million shares worth N214 million.
Diamond Bank traded 16.9 million equities valued at N21.2 million, while United Capital sold 14.2 million shares worth N43.2 million.
Investors will only hope that a calmer atmosphere tomorrow will have a positive effect on the market. Also, investors will hope that GTBank and other three other lenders release their half year earnings to lift the stock market.
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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