Economy
NSE Jumps 0.31% as Trading Volume Rises 755% on Champion Breweries
By Dipo Olowookere
There was a significant rise, about 755 per cent, in the trading volume of the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday.
This was buoyed by the sale of Champion Breweries during the session, trading 1.9 billion units of its shares valued at N5.0 billion.
UBA exchanged 26.5 million stocks for N228.5 million, Dangote Sugar transacted 21.5 million equities worth N397.9 million, Fidelity Bank traded 15.7 million stocks valued at N39.8 million, while Access Bank exchanged 13.3 million shares worth N117.1 million.
At the close of transactions, the number of shares transacted by market participants grew by 754.95 per cent to 2.1 billion units from 249.5 million units, the trading value increased by 243.81 per cent to N7.5 billion from N2.2 billion, while the number of deals dropped 25.16 per cent to 4,558 deals from 6,090 deals.
Yesterday, the stock market appreciated by 0.31 per cent, causing the All-Share Index (ASI) to rise by 125.70 points to 40,590.85 points from 40,465.15 points and moved the market capitalisation higher by N66 billion to N21.224 trillion from N21.158 trillion.
The growth was influenced by the gains recorded in three of the major sectors of the exchange. The oil/gas counter grew during the day by 5.65 per cent, the consumer goods sector appreciated by 0.75 per cent, while the banking space rose by 0.53 per cent.
Business Post reports that the insurance index went down marginally by 0.02 per cent, while the industrial goods industry closed flat.
The market breadth closed positive on Thursday as a result of the 27 price gainers and 14 price losers, with Seplat emerging the best-performing stock, gaining N41 to settle at N451 per unit.
Nigerian Breweries appreciated by N2 to sell for N58 per share, Ardova rose by N1.35 to finish at N14.90 per unit, Dangote Sugar improved by 70 kobo to close at N19 per share, while GTBank gained 50 kobo to sell for N33 per unit.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria closed as the worst-performing equity, losing 90 kobo to sell at N13 per share and was trailed by Guinness Nigeria, which lost 75 kobo to settle at N17.65 per unit.
Flour Mills depreciated by 30 kobo to end at N26.70 per share, Fidson went down by 20 kobo to trade at N4.50 per unit, while NAHCO fell by 10 kobo to close at N2.20 per share.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The listing of Dangote Industries Limited’s N300 billion series 1 and 2 bonds on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has been described as an indicator of the depth of the Nigerian capital market.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the conglomerates, Mr Olakunle Alake, said this on Wednesday when a closing gong ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of the listing of the corporate debt instrument on the local stock exchange.
Mr Alake, represented by the Group Chief Finance Officer, Mr Mustapha Ibrahim, said, “We are pleased to have showcased the depth and liquidity of the domestic capital market whilst we reflect the strong quality of the issuer, despite the current global market realities.”
According to him, the depth of the market was reflected in the successful issuance of the bond, which was the largest aggregate local currency bond issued in the capital market so far within the year.
He further noted that the listing of the bond recorded participation from a wide range of investors, including domestic pension funds, asset managers and insurance companies and further demonstrated investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s credit reality.
On his part, the Divisional Head of Capital Markets at NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, speaking at the event, applauded the listing of the bond, which provides corporates with the opportunity to raise capital.
“The listing of this transaction on our platform not only allows for a more liquid capital market, but it also shows our capacity to facilitate large transactions towards enabling a more robust ecosystem,” Mr Chiemeka said.
He further noted that NGX remains committed to fostering similar transactions through its digital gateways such as this and a confident market where corporates and investors can achieve their respective objectives.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Trading activities ended in a stalemate on the floor of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Wednesday, with no single price gainer or a price loser at the close of business.
As a result of this development, the market capitalisation of the bourse remained intact at N1.03 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) also remained unchanged at 743.15 points.
The unlisted securities market closed flat in the midweek session amid low investor appetite for the market, as attention shifted to the fixed-income market, where the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold treasury bills at the primary market, with the stop rate over 14 per cent.
Data from the bourse showed that the volume of securities traded yesterday was abysmally low as it went down by 99.9 per cent to 8,299 units from the 20.1 million units transacted a day earlier.
Likewise, the value of shares traded during the session dropped to N1.2 million, 97.3 per cent lower than the N44.5 million posted in the preceding trading day.
These transactions were carried out yesterday in nine deals, 75 per cent lower than the 36 deals executed on Tuesday.
Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 482.1 million units valued at N544.1 million, UBN Property Plc occupied second place with the sale of 365.8 units worth N309.5 million, while Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc was in third place with the sale of 71.1 million units valued at N5.1 million.
Also, VFD Group Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 7.3 million units worth N1.7 billion, Geo-Fluids Plc was in second place with a turnover of 482.1 million units worth N544.1 million, while UBN Property Plc was in third place with the sale of 365.8 million units valued at N309.5 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Peer-2-Peer (P2P) and the Investors and Exporters (I&E) windows of the foreign exchange market on Wednesday, March 30, but depreciated in the black market.
In the P2P segment, it gained N3 against its American counterpart to quote at N764/$1, in contrast to the N767/$1 it was traded on Tuesday as the demand for cryptos, which most traders in this category use the funds to buy, was relatively mild.
In the I&E window or the spot market, the Naira appreciated against the greenback yesterday by 51 Kobo or 0.11 per cent to settle at N461.24/$1 compared with the previous day’s N461.75/$1, according to data obtained from FMDQ Securities Exchange, with the forex turnover put at $74.31 million.
But in the parallel market, the domestic currency depreciated against the US Dollar in the midweek session by N4 to trade at N747/$1 versus Tuesday’s exchange rate of N743/$1.
Also, in the interbank window, the Naira lost N1.93 against the Pound Sterling to sell at N567.68/£1 versus Tuesday’s N565.52/£1, and against the Euro, it slid by N2.25 to at N499.21/€1 compared with the preceding day’s N496.66/€1.
Meanwhile, the digital currency market swayed to the bulls yesterday as most of the tokens tracked by Business Post ended in the green territory amid better-than-expected consumer confidence figures from the United States.
Data from the US Conference Board showed that its monthly survey rose to a reading of 104.2 basis points, better than the 101 mark expected, lifting Bitcoin (BTC) by 4.2 per cent to $28,519.76, as Ethereum (ETH) rose by 0.5 per cent to $1,788.52.
Solana (SOL) grew by 2.1 per cent to $21.08, Dogecoin (DOGE) gained 1.4 per cent to sell at $0.0751, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 0.6 per cent to $90.14, while Cardano (ADA) chalked up 0.5 per cent to quote at $0.3797.
However, Ripple (XRP) dropped 0.4 per cent to trade at $0.5336, Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.2 per cent to settle at $313.02, and Binance USD (BUSD) and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
