Economy
NSE Reviews Market Indices: Fidelity Bank Joins as Forte Oil Exits
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Next week, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is expected to carry out a reclassification of the NSE 30, and the six sectoral indices and information reaching us indicates that Fidelity Bank, Cadbury Nigeria and others may make the list.
However, companies that are likely to be dropped include Forte Oil, Conoil, Paints & Coatings Manufacturers Plc and others.
The six sectoral indices to be reviewed are the NSE Consumer Goods, NSE Banking, NSE Insurance, NSE Industrial, NSE Oil & Gas and the NSE Lotus Islamic Indices.
This exercise is normally done bi-annually (June and December) except for NSE Pension Index, which is reviewed once in the year (December).
“With the review, we will witness the entry/re-entry as well as exit of some major companies,” the NSE said in a statement on Wednesday.
It was disclosed that under the NSE 30 Index, Fidelity Bank Plc is likely to join, while Conoil Plc might exit.
Furthermore, under the NSE Lotus Islamic Index, Total Nigeria Plc is shortlisted for inclusion, while Forte Oil Plc is likely to leave.
But for the NSE Consumer Goods Index and the NSE Banking Index, there might likely be no changes at all.
Similarly, the NSE Oil & Gas Index will likely not experience any change, according to the statement issued by the NSE.
However, under the NSE Insurance Index, Linkage Assurance Plc, Regency Alliance Insurance Plc, and
Universal Insurance Co. Plc may be included, while Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Unity Kapital Assurance Plc, and Mutual Alliance Insurance Plc are exiting.
Lastly, First Aluminium Nigeria Plc is joining the NSE Industrial Index, while Paints & Coatings Manufacturers Plc quits.
However, the composition of these indices after the review will be effective on July 3, 2017.
The stock market regulator explained in the statement that The NSE-30 and NSE Industrial Indices are modified market capitalization index with the numbers of included stocks fixed at 30 and 10, respectively.
The stocks are selected based on their market capitalization from the most liquid sectors. The liquidity is based on the number of times the stock is traded during the preceding two quarters. To be included, the stock must have traded for at least 70 percent of the number of times the market opened for business.
The NSE explained that it was aware that the number of the stocks included in some of the indices may not be practically suitable for optimal portfolio diversification; however, the numbers would be reviewed as sector conditions change.
The Nigerian bourse began publishing the NSE 30 Index in February 2009 with index values available from January 1, 2007.
On July 1, 2008, it developed four sectoral indices and developed the NSE Pension Index in 2013, with a base value of 1,000 points, designed to provide investable benchmarks to capture the performance of specific sectors.
The sectoral indices comprise the top 15 most capitalized and liquid companies in the Insurance and Consumer Goods sectors, top 10 most capitalized and liquid companies in the Banking and Industrial Goods sector and the top seven most capitalized and liquid companies in the Oil & Gas sector.
Economy
UBN Property Triggers 0.22% Loss at NASD OTC Exchange
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.
It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.
However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.
The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.
At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.
Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.
Economy
Naira Weakens to N1,550/$1 at Official Market, Gains N5 at Black Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira weakened against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 20 amid FX pressures associated with this period.
Most people who came into the country for Christmas and New Year holidays are already going back and are in need of forex, putting pressure on the local currency.
Also, the poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to end to the 42-day access granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators to buy forex at official price.
According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the Nigerian Naira lost 0.16 per cent or N2.47 on the greeback yesterday to sell at N1,550.05/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s rate of N1,547.58/$1.
Similarly, the Naira slumped against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on Monday by N23.39 to trade at N1,906.98/£1 versus N1,883.59/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N23.14 to sell for N1,613.48/€1 compared with last Friday’s N1,590.34/€1.
However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Dollar during the session by N5 to quote at N1,665/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,670/$1.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it turned red yesterday as the US President, Mr Donald Trump, didn’t bring up the much-expected subject of crypto in his inauguration speech on Monday afternoon.
Mr Trump had promised a far more friendly crypto policy stance than the previous administration but in the long speech that announced his plans in the coming days, he didn’t make mention of Bitcoin or crypto.
Just over the weekend, the President ignited a speculative frenzy with the Friday evening launch of the Trump meme coin, which was shortly followed by a meme coin associated with his wife, Melania.
Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled yesterday by 6.3 per cent to $0.3419, Solana (SOL) slumped by 4.7 per cent to $235.32, Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to $0.9777, and Litecoin (LTC) moderated by 1.9 per cent to $114.98.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.7 per cent to $3,241.36, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 1.4 per cent to $693.30, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.2 per cent to $3.06, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.8 per cent to $101,746.99, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
Economy
Oil Prices Fall as Trump Announces Changes in US Energy Policies
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled lower on Monday after Mr Donald Trump was sworn in for a second time as President of the United States.
On assumption of office, Mr Trump declared a national energy emergency immediately, promising to replenish strategic reserves and export American energy worldwide.
Consequently, Brent crude futures went down by 64 cents or 0.8 per cent to settle at $80.15 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures depreciated by $1.30 or 1.7 per cent to trade at $76.58 per barrel.
Mr Trump and his allies have signalled they would use the authority to rapidly approve new oil, gas, and electricity projects that typically take years to permit, and during his speech said he plans to unleash new oil and gas development on federal lands while reversing the Biden-Harris administration’s de-growth climate regulations.
Market analysts noted that while many of the executive actions will simply kick off a lengthy regulatory process, they extend by a large degree to the US energy industry, from oil fields to car dealerships.
These also underscore Mr Trump’s determination to reorient federal government policy behind oil and gas production, a sharp pivot from Biden’s efforts to curb fossil fuels.
He also said in his inaugural speech that he would impose tariffs and tax countries and promised an overhaul of the trade system.
Last week, prices rose for a fourth-consecutive weekly gain after the Biden administration imposed sanctions on more than 100 tankers and two Russian oil producers. This led to a scramble by top buyers China and India for prompt oil cargoes and a rush for ship supply.
Meanwhile, dealers of Russian and Iranian oil sought tankers not under sanctions for oil shipment.
While the new sanctions could cut supply from Russia by nearly 1 million barrels per day, market analysts noted that recent price gains could be short-lived depending on Trump’s actions as the new American president promised to help end the Russia-Ukraine war quickly.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Mr Trump on taking office hours, saying he was open to dialogue with the new US administration on Ukraine and nuclear arms.
Pressure was reduced based on easing tension in the Middle East after Hamas and Israel exchanged hostages and prisoners on Sunday which marked the first day of a ceasefire after 15 months of war.
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