By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied by 1.25 per cent on Thursday as the market regained the confidence of investors after a panic selling on Tuesday.

Business Post reports that the value of Nigeria’s stock exchange was up during the trading session by N792 billion to N64.351 trillion from N63.559 trillion as the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,300.01 points to 105,530.74 points from 104,230.73 points.

This happened because of the bargain-hunting activities at the bourse, with significant interest in shares in the banking, consumer goods and energy sectors, leaving their respective indices up by 1.70 per cent, 0.46 per cent, and 0.04 per cent.

However, the insurance and the industrial goods sectors witnessed profit-taking, keeping them down by 1.38 per cent and 0.17 per cent, respectively.

The level of activity waned yesterday as the trading volume, value and number of deals went down by 35.29 per cent, 46.96 per cent, and 3.99 per cent, respectively.

A total of 489.5 million shares worth N13.1 billion exchanged hands in 13,010 deals on Thursday versus the 756.4 million shares valued at N24.7 billion transacted in 13,551 deals on Wednesday.

Universal Insurance topped the activity chart with 97.2 million equities valued at N72.2 million, AIICO Insurance traded 54.2 million shares for N104.2 million, Sovereign Trust Insurance exchanged 25.0 million stocks worth N37.6 million, FBN Holdings sold 16.2 million equities valued at N500.4 million, and Guinea Insurance transacted 14.6 million stocks worth N13.9 million.

Investor sentiment was strong yesterday after Customs Street ended with 35 appreciating shares and 25 depreciating share, representing a positive market breadth index.

MTN Nigeria further gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N242.00, Honeywell Flour jumped by 9.89 per cent to N9.11, Universal Insurance chalked up 9.86 per cent to finish at 78 Kobo, Transcorp Hotels rose by 9.78 per cent to N127.35, and Ikeja Hotel grew by 9.31 per cent to N13.50.

On the flip side, RT Briscoe depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N2.34, Sunu Assurances lost 9.99 per cent to N8.11, The Initiates slumped by 9.68 per cent to N2.52, UPDC tumbled by 9.50 per cent to N1.81, and Guinea Insurance declined by 8.08 per cent to 91 Kobo.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced the rebasing of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, with 2019 selected as the new base year from the previous 2010.

The GDP is used to gauge the size of the Nigerian economy.

This decision, according to the NBS, was driven by the year’s status as a period of “relative economic stability” compared to other recent years, which were marked by significant economic shocks.

This was disclosed on Thursday during a sensitisation workshop on GDP and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rebasing, organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the stats office in Lagos.

Speaking during his presentation, Mr Moses Waniko, the Technical Assistant to the Statistician General also said “Some major surveys that served as inputs into the rebasing covered this period. 2020, 2021 and 2022 were avoided as base years due to economic instabilities – this follows IMF guidelines.”

The agency noted further that 2019 was chosen because “other sector-specific administrative data for this period were collected.”

He noted further that the newly rebased GDP figures would be unveiled by the end of January.

In October 2024, the NBS revealed its plans to rebase both the GDP and CPI to reflect current economic realities and account for structural changes in the economy.

Mr Waniko explained that the data collection process is nearing completion.

However, he said the results will still need to undergo validation before the official launch at the end of the month.

“We’re currently concluding the rebasing. We need to validate the results, and then we have to do a launch; we are looking at the end of January to do that launch, to disseminate the numbers, and then, usually, there are post-rebasing activities that will happen.”

He noted several key benefits the rebased GDP would have on the national economy.

He also emphasised that the GDP rebasing should be viewed not only in terms of aggregate numbers but also in terms of their distribution, weights, and contributions across different sectors.

“It is good to look at the rebasing from different angles, not just the aggregate numbers, but to look at what those numbers are supposed to tell us, in terms of the distribution, the aggregate numbers, in terms of their weights, contributions and the rest.

“Beyond that, there are other implications for the national economy, which we have tried to put in this slide. The first is rebasing will provide or allow for an Economic and Development Plan.

“The second is that the rebasing will really help to provide a good trajectory for the economy. So beyond this, it’s important to also state that after the rebasing, there are certain things that we expect that might change, such as changes in the size of the structure of the economy.

“We expect that the size of the economy will be bigger.”

“The tax-to-GDP ratio is something that people may want to see what the numbers would look like. Debt to GDP ratio of 18.5 per cent as of September 2019 could also reduce with the bigger size of the GDP, and then per-capita income will increase after the rebasing,” he added.

By Dipo Olowookere

A popular stock trading platform in Nigeria, Yochaa, has informed its customers of a planned disruption in service this weekend.

In a notice, the company said it was carrying out “a major upgrade to our mobile app” between 5 pm of Friday, January 10, 2025, and 10 pm of Sunday, January 12, 2025.

It explained that the decision to upgrade its mobile trading platform was “part of our commitment to improving your experience and the quality of our services.”

“This upgrade is part of our efforts to deliver a more seamless, secure, and efficient experience for you.

“Once completed, you can look forward to improved service reliability and enhanced features to better support your investment journey,” the firm said.

During this period, “Deposits and withdrawals for NGN wallets will be unavailable” and there would be “limited access to portfolio and tracker services.”

In the statement seen by Business Post, Yochaa, however, said, “All US services, including deposits and withdrawals, will remain fully operational.”

It added that, “All Yochaa Lounge services including Yochaa Investment Assistant, will remain fully operational,” noting that, “While some services will be limited, you’ll still be able to access your account, monitor your portfolio, and trade on US markets without interruption.”

“We appreciate your understanding as we work to serve you better. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to our support team,” Yochaa stated.