Economy
Nigerian Stocks Open Week With 0.31% Appreciation
By Dipo Olowookere
Investors were upbeat about the local stock market on Monday, resulting in a 0.31 per cent growth recorded at the close of transactions.
It was the second straight win for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited yesterday after the poor run of results caused by profit-taking was halted last Friday.
Appetite for insurance equities remained strong during the trading day, leaving its index rising by 3.81 per cent, as the banking counter grew by 1.12 per cent, and the consumer goods space up by 0.29 per cent, with the industrial goods sector closing higher by 0.02 per cent, while the energy industry depreciated by 0.31 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 435.63 points to 141,439.77 points from 141,004.14 points and the market capitalisation jumped by N284 billion to N89.493 trillion from N89.209 trillion.
Yesterday, Customs Street recorded a turnover of 591.3 million equities worth N11.7 billion in 33,342 deals compared with the 1.3 billion equities sold for N47.8 billion in 25,916 deals, reflecting a significant increase in the number of deals by 28.65 per cent, and a broad decline in the trading volume and value by 54.52 per cent and 75.52 per cent apiece.
The activity log was led by FCMB, which traded 105.1 million units worth N1.2 billion, Veritas Kapital transacted 59.6 million units valued at N128.8 million, Universal Insurance exchanged 34.4 million units for N45.2 million, AIICO Insurance sold 26.2 million units valued at N111.9 million, and GTCO traded 25.0 million units worth N2.4 billion.
Julius Berger was the higher price gainer on Monday after it chalked up 9.93 per cent to sell for N146.10, Cutix gained 9.86 per cent to sell for N3.90, Regency Alliance rose by 9.70 per cent to N1.47, Veritas Kapital expanded by 9.60 per cent to N2.17, and McNichols grew by 9.37 per cent to N3.50.
On the flip side, University Press declined by 9.92 per cent to N5.54, Cadbury Nigeria tumbled by 9.61 per cent to N57.85, Abbey Mortgage Bank lost 8.39 per cent to close at N6.55, DAAR Communications depreciated by 7.44 per cent to N1.12, and Austin Laz shed 6.55 per cent to end at N2.71.
On the first trading session of the week, 40 stocks appreciated and 17 stocks depreciated, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, July 13, at N1,379.65/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.44 to exchange at N1,848.18/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,850.62/£1, and lost 73 Kobo against the Euro to sell at N1,576.39/€1 versus last Friday’s N1,575.66/€1.
At the GTBank fore counter, the Naira declined by N2 to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s rate of N1,386/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,400/$1.
Market analysts expect the Naira to trade within a relatively stable range, supported by sustained FX inflows and a continued market intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), although persistent underlying FX demand is likely to keep depreciation pressures elevated.
According to Monday’s trading data, interbank FX turnover surged by 21.14 per cent to $86.136 million from $71.044 million at the previous trading session on Friday.
However, interbank deal counts declined to 85 from 87 on Monday, reflecting the absence of pressure from US Dollar payments against local units. Last week, total foreign exchange inflows amounted to $0.97 billion, according to a Coronation Merchant Bank research report.
Analysts reported that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained the largest source of inflows, contributing 30.29% or $0.29 billion, closely followed by Exporters and Importers at 30.14 per cent.
Non-bank corporates accounted for 26.49 per cent or $0.26 billion, while the CBN contributed 6.93 per cent or $0.07 billion. Other sources made up the remaining 5.4 per cent of total inflows.
In the cryptocurrency market, major coins came under pressure following heightened expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase as soon as July, just ahead of key US inflation data and congressional testimony from Chairman Kevin Warsh came into focus.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.2 per cent to $62,627.03, Solana (SOL) dipped by 1.5 per cent to $75.18, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3248, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $1.06, and Cardano (ADA) lost 0.6 per cent to close at $0.1589.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.5 per cent to $1,784.26, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.2 per cent to $0.073, and Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $569.23, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
