Economy
NSE Index Drops to 10-Month Low as Market Capitalisation Falls to N12tr
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian stock market suffered its biggest loss in over two months on Friday, closing 2.17 lower when activities were brought to an end.
The last time the market posted a decline of more than 2 percent was on June 1, 2018, when a 3.38 percent loss was recorded on that trading day.
Business Post reports that at the close of transactions yesterday, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)’s All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 786.19 points to finish at 35,446.47 points, its lowest level since October 2017.
Also, the market capitalisation, which shows the total value of stocks listed on the exchange, reduced by N287 billion to settle at N12.941 trillion against the N13.228 trillion it finished on Thursday.
Business Post reports that the stock market did not record any gain this week as all the five trading days closed in red. This is as the political tension in the country continues to scare portfolio investors away from the market, who are taking profit as there are no positive news to cheer them up.
However, the volume of shares transacted by investors increased on Friday by 2.52 percent to 193 million from 188.3 million on Thursday, while the value of equities traded surged by 57.44 percent to N2 billion from N1.3 billion.
But the market breadth ended negative yesterday with a total of 25 stocks depreciating in value compared with the 14 equities that appreciated at the close of business.
Dangote Cement recorded the biggest loss at the market after going down by N14 to settle at N214 per share.
It was followed by Total Nigeria, which went down by N5 to close at N185 per share, and Lafarge, which lost N1.90k to finish at N28 per share.
GlaxoSmithKline reduced by N1.70k to end at N15.30k per share, while Ecobank decreased by N1.10k to close at N21.05k per share.
At the other end, Mobil Oil Nigeria recorded the biggest price appreciating after increased its share value by N6 to finish at N176 per share.
International Breweries garnered N1 to close at N32 per share, while Eterna grew by 45 kobo to settle at N6.55k per share.
FBN Holdings went up by 10 kobo to end at N9.60k per share, while Oando also gained 10 kobo to finish at N5.55k per share.
The banking sector led the activity chart yesterday with a total of 92.5 million shares worth N980 million traded by investors.
It was followed by the insurance sector, which sold 21.1 million equities valued at N6.8 million, and the diversified industries, which traded 19 million shares worth N27.2 million.
A further breakdown showed that United Bank for Africa (UBA) emerged the most traded stock, selling 52.1 million units worth N496.2 million.
Transcorp exchanged 18.5 million shares valued at N21.6 million, while Courtville transacted 14.7 million equities for N3.1 million.
Oando sold 12.2 million shares for N66.9 million, while Zenith Bank traded 11.8 million equities valued at N279.1 million.
With the Nigerian stock market, which gained 42 percent in 2017, already losing 7.31 percent this year, investors would hope things change for good next week.
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.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
