Economy
Nigerian Stocks Drop 0.46% as Interest Rate Hike Dampens Mood
By Dipo Olowookere
Investors on Wednesday reacted negatively to the marginal hike in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday evening.
By the time the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was concluded on Tuesday, the financial markets had closed. The apex bank raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 18.75 per cent from 18.50 per cent.
Traders pulled back at the equity market yesterday, resulting in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited reversing the gain by 0.46 per cent at the close of business.
Business Post reports that the banking space lost 0.60 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.45 per cent, and the industrial goods sector went down by 0.02 per cent.
The trio weakened the domestic bourse in the midweek session despite the energy index expanding by 4.91 per cent and the insurance counter growing by 1.02 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 301.65 points to 65,687.16 points from 65,988.81 points, and the market capitalisation declined by 0.52 per cent or N187 billion to N35.746 trillion from N35.933 trillion due to the delisting of Ardova Petroleum Plc shares.
Amid the loss, investor sentiment remained strong as the market breadth index was positive with 32 price gainers and 24 price losers led by Cadbury Nigeria and Unilever Nigeria, which shed 10.00 per cent each to N15.30 and N15.75, respectively. Multiverse declined by 9.97 per cent to N2.71, Omatek shrank by 9.62 per cent to 47 Kobo, and Champion Breweries lost 7.45 per cent to trade at N3.48.
On the flip side, the trio of NCR Nigeria, Courteville, and Seplat Energy improved their stock prices by 10.00 per cent each to N3.96, 66 Kobo, and N1,693.60 apiece, as FTN Cocoa rose by 9.92 per cent to N2.66, and Japaul grew by 9.90 per cent to N1.11.
During the trading day, investors traded 500.4 million stocks worth N7.1 billion in 7,345 deals compared with the 553.5 million stocks worth N7.4 billion traded in 8,313 deals on Tuesday, showing a decline in the trading volume, value and the number of deals by 9.59 per cent, 4.05 per cent, and 11.64 per cent apiece.
Financial equities topped the activity chart on Wednesday, with UBA selling 58.3 million units valued at N871.4 million, Access Holdings trading 55.2 million units worth N991.2 million, Universal Insurance exchanging 32.7 million units worth N7.6 million, FBN Holdings transacting 28.0 million units for N590.5 million, and Zenith Bank trading 26.5 million units valued at N933.5 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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