Economy
NSE to Sanction Stockbrokers for Manipulative Trading, Late Sale Orders
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
In order to curb infractions at the market and stop situations where investors lose their money unnecessarily or even lose confidence in the capital market, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has said it would go very tough on any stockbroker who engages in manipulative trading and marking the close.
In a circular to brokers yesterday, which was obtained by Business Post, the NSE said any dealing member or firm caught in such acts would be severely punished with fines or revocation of operating licence where necessary.
Marking the close involves attempting to influence the closing price of a stock by executing purchase or sale orders at or near the close of normal trading hours.
This act includes approving or entering an order at or near the close of the market, with the primary aim to change or maintain the closing price of a security traded on the NSE.
In the circular, authorities of the local bourse said this act, which is prohibited, can artificially inflate or depress the closing price for the security.
Citing Rule 17.13: Prohibition of Market Manipulation and Illegal Market Dealings, Rulebook of The Exchange 2015 (Dealing Members Rules), specifically Rule 17.13 (a) and (b)(4), the Head of Broker Dealer Regulation at the NSE, Mr Olufemi Shobanjo, said the stock exchange “prohibits dealing members from engaging in such activity,” advising “dealing members to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the rules to avoid regulatory sanctions.”
Business Post reports that the aforementioned rule states that, “(a) No Dealing Member may –(1) Either for its own account or on behalf of another person, directly or indirectly use or knowingly participate in the use of any manipulative, improper, false or deceptive practice of trading in a security listed on The Exchange which practice creates or might create –(A) a false or deceptive appearance of the trading activity in connection with; or (B) an artificial price for, that security;
“Place an order to buy or sell listed securities which, to his or her knowledge will, if executed, have the effect contemplated in sub-rule (a).”“(b) Without limiting the generality of sub-rule (a), the following are deemed to be manipulative, improper, false or deceptive trading practices:
“(4) Approving or entering an order at or near the close of the market, the primary purpose of which is to change or maintain the closing price of a security traded on the floor of The Exchange.”
In addition, the NSE warned stockbrokers against the circulation of false, misleading or inaccurate information and stay away from front running.
It stressed that any one found guilty of these infractions would pay a “fine to be determined by the exchange based on the circumstances of the case and which fine shall not be less than N500,000; and suspension of the Dealing Member for such period as may be determined by the exchange; or expulsion of the dealing member.”
It further said, “Dealing Members shall not take advantage of an order or a block transaction, that may influence the price of a security, issued by a customer or a group of customers nor shall the Dealing Member trade ahead of customers in the same direction of their orders before the said customers have executed their orders, which may result in the Dealing Member profiting from and illegally taking advantage of the customers.
“Dealing Members are prohibited from making any deals or recommendations to others to trade in the same direction of the orders before the execution thereof.”
The NSE emphasised that all dealing members have a duty to ensure that all information, advertisements, brochures, circulars and publications are accurate, clear, fair, made in good faith and inoffensive.
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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