Economy
NSE Year-to-Date Loss Shrinks to 0.02% as Market Cap Hits N14trn
By Dipo Olowookere
The year-to-date loss of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) shrank to 0.02 per cent on Wednesday following the 0.83 per cent growth recorded by the market.
This was buoyed by the rising demand for equities, which left stocks of 20 companies on the exchange appreciating in value during the session. Only eight shares closed in the red territory yesterday.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 219.8 points to 26,831.76 points from 26,611.96 points, while the market capitalisation finally hit N14 trillion after gaining N117 billion to settle at N14.025 trillion as against N13.908 trillion it closed the previous day.
Business Post reports that the activity chart was in red at the midweek trading session following the decline in the volume of shares traded, the value and the number of deals by 21.87 per cent, 10.80 per cent and 13.57 per cent respectively.
A total of 322.8 million stocks worth N4.0 billion were traded in 4,046 deals yesterday compared with the 413.1 million equities worth N4.5 billion transacted in 4,681 deals on Tuesday.
The huge trade in the shares of Sterling Bank continued in the session as the lender transacted 83.7 million units valued at N105.4 million.
Access Bank transacted 46.1 million shares worth N308.4 million, Zenith Bank traded 24.9 million equities for N443.4 million, Lafarge Africa traded 18.7 million stocks worth N280.6 million, while Fidelity Bank exchanged 17.2 million shares for N32.2 million.
Total Nigeria was the biggest price gainer on Wednesday as a result of the N8.80 price appreciation it recorded in the session, closing at N96.80 per share.
Dangote Cement gained N3.90 to trade at N142.90 per unit, MTN Nigeria appreciated by N1.50 to quote at N129 1.50 per unit, GTBank improved by N1 to end at N28.05 per unit, while UAC Nigeria grew by 60 kobo to sell for N6.95 per unit.
The heaviest price loser of the trading day was Nigerian Breweries as its stock price went down by N3.55 to finish at N49 per unit.
PZ Cussons dropped 25 kobo after the sale of its dairy business to Friesland to settle at N4 per unit, Union Bank fell by 15 kobo to trade at N5 per share, Dangote Sugar depreciated by 10 kobo after its listed shares from its merger with Savannah Sugar on the exchange to close at N12.40 per unit, while University Press declined by 9 kobo to quote at N1.24 per share.
Apart from the consumer goods sector, which lost 1.66 per cent on Wednesday, every other sector closed positive with the banking counter gaining 1.93 per cent, the industrial goods space rose by 1.40 per cent, the insurance index appreciated by 0.31 per cent, while the energy sector recorded a marginal growth of 0.05 per cent.
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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