Economy
Nigerian Stocks Post Third Straight Loss as Mood Dampens
By Dipo Olowookere
For the third straight session, transactions on the floor of the local bourse closed bearish and on Wednesday, the market was down by 0.09 per cent.
Sustained profit-taking by investors further weakened the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as the absence of a positive trigger is beginning to weigh on the market.
Trades were low at the midweek session as just 169.3 million stocks worth N1.4 billion were transacted in 3,449 deals compared with the 425.7 million stocks worth N2.0 billion traded in 4,553 deals a day earlier, signifying a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 60.23 per cent, 27.60 per cent and 24.25 per cent respectively.
At the close of transactions, Transcorp traded 28.5 million shares valued at N25.8 million, Zenith Bank traded 16.6 million stocks worth N398.2 million, Honeywell Flour traded 13.2 million shares worth N55.0 million, United Capital exchanged 12.8 million equities valued at N91.4 million, while Mutual Benefits Assurance transacted 8.3 million equities worth N2.5 million.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment was weak yesterday as the market breadth closed negative with nine price gainers and 17 price losers led by FTN Cocoa, which lost 8.77 per cent to trade at 52 kobo.
Morison Industries went down by 5.42 per cent to N1.92, UPDC depreciated by 4.84 per cent to N1.77, Jaiz Bank fell by 4.76 per cent to 60 kobo, while Wema Bank lost 4.65 per cent to settle at 82 kobo.
On the flip side, AIICO Insurance topped the gainers’ chart after its value rose by 4.04 per cent to sell for N1.03 and was trailed by Custodian Investment, which gained 3.15 per cent to quote at N6.55.
Fidson appreciated by 2.80 per cent to N6.25, Fidelity Bank improved by 2.55 per cent to N2.41, while Livestock Feeds appreciated by 0.95 per cent to trade at N2.13.
A look at the sectoral performance showed that apart from the industrial goods sector, which closed flat, every other counter finished bearish.
The consumer goods space lost 0.62 per cent, the banking sector depreciated by 0.23 per cent, the insurance counter declined by 0.20 per cent, while the energy counter deflated by 0.08 per cent.
When the market was closed for the session, the All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 35.43 points to 39,184.18 points from 39,219.61 points, while the market capitalisation moderated by N18 billion to N20.416 trillion from N20.434 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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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.
