Economy
NSE Index Posts Marginal 0.03% Growth Friday
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) recorded a marginal growth on Friday, rising by 0.03 percent at the close of transactions to reduce the year-to-date loss 14.57 percent.
The gains posted by stocks in the consumer goods (+1.63 percent), industrial goods (+1.37 percent) and oil/gas (+0.34 percent) suppressed the losses recorded by equities in the banking (-1.68 percent) and insurance (-1.68 percent) sectors.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) slightly increased by 8.57 points to 26,851.68 points from 26,843.11 points, while the market capitalisation appreciated by N4.2 billion to N13.071 trillion from N13.067 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the gains, the activity level was weak as total number of shares, number deals and value of the transactions went down by 24.78 percent, 12.95 percent and 44.22 percent respectively.
A total of 470.0 million shares worth N5.6 billion were transacted in 5,594 deals by investors on Friday compared with the 624.8 million shares valued at N10.0 billion exchanged on Thursday in 6,426 deals.
Unlike the previous session, Access Bank emerged the most traded stock at the market on Friday, trading 158.8 million units worth N1.7 billion, while Zenith Bank dropped to the second position with 71.0 million shares sold for N1.4 billion.
UBA transacted 41.9 million equities valued at N317.0 million, FBN Holdings sold 41.5 million shares worth N282.6 million, while Fidelity Bank exchanged 23.6 million equities valued at N47.0 million.
On the price movement chart, Guinness Nigeria was the highest price gainer, appreciating by N2.60 to finish at N28.60 per unit, while Flour Mills followed with a price appreciation of N1.05 to settle at N16.25 per share.
Nigerian Breweries and CCNN gained N1 apiece to finish at N48.50 and N20 respectively, while Dangote Sugar rose by 80 kobo to settle at N11.70 per unit.
On the flip side, GTBank led the losers’ chart with a price depreciation of 90 kobo to close at N29 per share, while MTN Nigeria also went down by 90 kobo to close at N121 per unit.
Both Access Bank and Zenith Bank depreciated by 30 kobo each to finish at N10.50 and N18.85 per share respectively, while NAHCO declined by 23 kobo to settle at N2.37 per share.
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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