Economy
NSE Index Deteriorates by 0.10% as Profit-Taking Persists
By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions remained bearish on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday as the bourse went down by 0.10 per cent.
Sustained profit-taking by investors was responsible for the extension of the stay of the bears at the exchange yesterday, reducing the year-to-date return to 4.29 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 43.78 points to 42,000.01 points from 42,043.79 points, while the market capitalisation dropped N23 billion to settle at N21.971 trillion in contrast to the preceding day’s N21.994 trillion.
Business Post reports that the market breadth finished negative at the midweek session as a result of the depreciation in the value of 27 stocks as against the rise in the prices of 19 equities.
Flour Mills was the biggest price loser as it went down by N1 to N32 per share, while GTBank lost 70 kobo to end at N33.05 per unit.
Also, Lafarge Africa declined by 45 kobo to sell at N27.55 per share, Champion Breweries fell by 37 kobo to trade at N3.39 per unit, while Ecobank depreciated by 30 kobo to quote at N5.90 per share.
On the flip side, Ardova was the biggest price gainer as its share price rose by 85 kobo during the session to settle at N18 per unit.
Zenith Bank grew by 65 kobo to trade at N26.95 per share, Eterna appreciated by 40 kobo to close at N5.60 per unit, Unilever Nigeria improved by 40 kobo to quote at N14.60 per share, while NCR Nigeria gained 31 kobo to trade at N3.43 per unit.
On the activity chart, a total of 504.8 million shares worth N5.3 billion were traded on Wednesday in 5,887 deals as against the 556.0 million equities worth N4.8 billion traded on Tuesday in 7,110 deals, this signified that while the trading value improved by 10.97 per cent, the trading volume and the number of deals reduced by 9.21 per cent and 17.20 per cent respectively.
Again, Union Bank was the most active stock at the market as investors traded 75.6 million units of its shares valued at N434.4 million yesterday.
GTBank sold 60.7 million equities worth N2.0 billion, FCMB transacted 50.4 million units for N173.6 million, Transcorp exchanged 44.4 million stocks worth N45.9 million, while Zenith Bank traded 31.5 million shares valued at N832.0 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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