Economy
Nigerian Stocks in Cloud 9 as Market Cap Hits N19trn
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigerian stocks entered another level on Friday as the total value, which is measured by market capitalisation, crossed the N19 trillion mark.
During the trading session, which closed 1.56 per cent higher, the market cap increased by N295 billion to close at N19.236 trillion as against N18.941 trillion it ended the previous day.
Business Post reports that the buying interest in blue-chip equities contributed to the 565.13 points rise in the All-Share Index (ASI) yesterday as it ended at 36,804.75 points in contrast to 36,239.62 points it finished a day earlier.
During the session, a total of 426.3 million shares worth N4.4 billion were traded in 4,298 deals in contrast to the 343.6 million equities worth N4.4 billion traded in 3,895 deals on Thursday.
A breakdown of the trades showed that Niger Insurance was the most attractive stock as it transacted 130.3 million units valued at N26.1 million.
Investors traded 23.4 million shares of GTBank worth N790.8 million, 21.8 million equities of Axa Mansard valued at N20.0 million were exchanged, 21.3 million stocks of FBN Holdings worth N150.5 million were traded, while 20.2 million shares of Zenith Bank valued at N501.1 million exchanged hands.
On the price movement chart, Dangote Cement was on top the gainers’ table with a price appreciation of N9.50, closing at N209.50 per share.
MTN Nigeria gained N5 to finish at N160 per unit, Ardova rose by N1.05 to settle at N14.30 per share, Guinness Nigeria improved by 40 kobo to N19 per unit, while Oando grew by 28 kobo to N3.14 per share.
At the other side, C&I Leasing led the losers’ group on Friday after its share price depreciated by 47 kobo to trade at N4.31 per unit.
United Capital lost 6 kobo to finish at N4.65 per share, May & Baker declined by 4 kobo to N3.85 per unit, LASACO Assurance went down by 2 kobo to 30 kobo per share, while UPDC depreciated by one kobo to 79 kobo per unit.
A look at the sectoral performance showed that the insurance sector was the highest gainer, rising by 4.02 per cent and was trailed by the industrial goods space, which grew by 2.51 per cent.
The energy index appreciated by 1.30 per cent, the banking counter gained 0.36 per cent, while the consumer goods sector moved up by 0.12 per cent.
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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