Economy
NSE: Bears Tighten Grip as Investor Appetite Weakens Further
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears failed to retract from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday, recording another loss yesterday to drag the year-to0date returns to -8.28 percent.
It was observed that selloffs in the shares of some blue-chip companies dragged the stock market down by 0.60 percent on Wednesday as investor appetite continue to weaken.
At the close of market yesterday, only 12 counters recorded price appreciation compared with the 29 depreciating stocks.
Nestle Nigeria was the biggest price loser on Wednesday as the company’s shares went down by N60 to settle at N1500 per share.
Berger Paints, which followed, lost 70 kobo to close at N6.50k per share, while Zenith Bank declined by 50 kobo to finish at N23 per share.
Newrest ASL Nigeria depreciated by 45 kobo to close at N4.50k per share, while Oando also fell by 45 kobo to end at N4.55k per share.
On the flip side, Total Nigeria, which emerged as the highest price gainer yesterday, gained N5 to close at N190 per share.
FBN Holdings added 30 kobo to its share value to finish at N9.85k per share, while Forte Oil grew by 15 kobo to end at N23.15k per share.
May and Baker increased by 7 kobo to close at N2.35k per share, while Linkage Assurance went up by 6 kobo to settle at 68 kobo per share.
Business Post reports that the volume of transactions increased on Wednesday by 27.37 percent to 209.5 million from 164.5 million, while the value of trades rose by 80.07 percent to N2.9 billion from N1.6 billion on Tuesday.
Banking stocks contributed largely to the rise in the volume and value of transactions recorded ay the market yesterday. The sector traded a total of 105 million units of stocks on Wednesday valued at N1.7 billion.
A further analysis showed that United Bank for Africa attracted a huge attention of investors at the market yesterday, accounting for 28.3 million units sold for N255 million.
It was followed by Zenith Bank, which traded 22.4 million shares worth N518.4 million, and FCMB, which transacted 21 million equities valued at N38.7 million.
GTBank exchanged 20.7 million shares for N785.5 million, while Transcorp transacted 14.7 million equities worth N16.3 million.
A cursory look at the main market indices on Wednesday showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) lost 213.41 points to settle at 35,074.82 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N77.91 billion to finish at N12.806 trillion.
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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