Economy
Persistent Buying Pressure Raises NGX Above N140trn After 0.44% Gain
By Dipo Olowookere
The continued strong appetite for local stocks further strengthened the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.44 per cent on Monday.
The domestic bourse remained in green territory yesterday despite a weakened activity level, which saw the trading volume and value down 24.31 per cent and 6.62 per cent, respectively, while the number of deals increased by 34.23 per cent.
According to trading data from Customs Street, investors transacted 984.0 million shares worth N50.8 billion in 76,410 deals on the first trading day of this week compared with the 1.3 billion shares valued at N54.4 billion traded in 56,923 deals last Friday.
Access Holdings returned to the top of the activity log with 91.7 million equities sold for N3.0 billion, First Holdco exchanged 70.2 million stocks worth N4.8 billion, Zenith Bank traded 54.9 million shares valued at N7.0 billion, Lasaco Assurance transacted 53.8 million equities worth N107.5 million, and UBA recorded a turnover of 52.6 million stocks valued at N2.7 billion.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment was weak on Monday despite the positive outcome, as there were 27 appreciating stocks and 46 depreciating stocks, implying a negative market breadth index.
Bargain-hunting in NAHCO, which went up by 10.00 per cent to N242.00, and others ensured that the NGX remained in green territory. Union Dicon also gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N18.15, Fidelity Bank improved by 9.98 per cent to N22.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.92 per cent to N6.65, and Access Holdings rose by 9.87 per cent to N32.85.
On the flip side, Living Trust Mortgage Bank lost 10.00 per cent to quote at N3.69, Stanbic IBTC also declined by 10.00 per cent to finish at N169.70, Transcorp Power gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N272.70, Abbey Mortgage Bank crashed by 9.88 per cent to N7.30, and Guinea Insurance dropped 8.80 per cent to settle at N1.14.
It was observed that all the major sectors of the market were bullish yesterday, with the banking index growing by 2.56 per cent. The energy space appreciated by 0.75 per cent, the consumer goods counter improved by 0.38 per cent, and the industrial goods sector gained 0.35 per cent, while the insurance segment closed flat.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation went up by N609 billion to N140.436 trillion from N139.827 trillion, and the market capitalisation soared by 946.27 points to 218,113.84 points from 217,167.57 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended rallied by 1.18 per cent on Friday, May 8, its fifth in a row for this week.
During the session, the market capitalisation increased by N28.96 billion to N2.488 trillion from N2.459 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) jumped by 48.39 points to 4,158.77 points from the 4,110.38 points recorded a day earlier.
The growth witnessed yesterday was spurred by the gains recorded by six securities, led by 11 Plc, which chalked up N11.00 to sell at 221.10 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N210.10 per unit. FrislandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N10.26 to close at N132.98 per share compared with the previous day’s N127.06 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc rose by N2.82 to N75.90 per unit from N73.08 per unit.
In addition, Lighthouse Financial Services Plc appreciated by 7 Kobo to 86 Kobo per share from 81 Kobo per share, UBN Property Plc climbed higher by 5 Kobo to N2.25 per unit from N2.20 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc gained 2 Kobo to close at N2.32 per share, in contrast to the previous session’s N2.30 per share.
Conversely, Geo-Fluids Plc went down by 20 Kobo to N2.90 per unit from N3.10 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 5 Kobo to end at N16.95 per share versus N17.00 per share.
The volume of transactions for the session surged by 41.8 per cent to 528,891 units from 372,916 units, and the value grew by 11.4 per cent to N34.0 million from N30.4 million, while the number of deals slid by 7.4 per cent to 25 deals from 27 deals.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion. Resourcery Plc occupied the second spot after trading 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and the third position was occupied by Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.5 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock exchange reversed the previous day’s loss, with a 2.10 per cent surge on Friday as a result of demand for large-cap equities like Dangote Cement, First Holdco and others.
It was observed that apart from the insurance counter, which shed 0.37 per cent, every other sector closed higher yesterday.
The industrial goods index expanded by 7.26 per cent, the banking segment increased by 3.35 per cent, the consumer goods industry rose by 0.21 per cent, and the energy sector soared by 0.14 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited improved by 5,041.22 points to 244,775.83 points from 239,734.61 points, and the market capitalisation added N3.235 trillion to settle at N157.094 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N153.859 trillion.
The quintet of Neimeth, Cadbury Nigeria, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank, Mecure, and Dangote Cement led the advancers’ table on Friday, with 10.00 per cent growth each to quote at N9.90, N72.60, N3.52, N72.60, and N1,088.00, respectively.
On the flip side, the duo of UAC Nigeria and Industrial and Medical Gases lost 10.00 per cent each to sell for N171.00 and N42.30, respectively, as Eterna declined by 9.93 per cent to N33.55, Learn Africa slipped by 9.89 per cent to N8.20, and Deap Capital tripped by 9.69 per cent to N5.50.
The most active stock for the day was VFD Group, with a turnover of 102.9 million units valued at N1.1 billion. FCMB transacted 99.4 million units worth N1.1 billion, UBA traded 94.5 million units for N3.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 85.4 million units worth N2.0 billion, and Zenith Bank sold 46.5 million units valued at N5.8 billion.
At the close of trades, market participants traded 1.1 billion units worth N55.0 billion in 69,996 deals, in contrast to the 1.8 billion units valued at N72.2 billion transacted in 81,131 deals a day earlier, showing a crash in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 38.89 per cent, 23.82 per cent, and 13.73 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira fell against the US Dollar by N5.54 or 0.41 per cent to N1,361.39/$1 from N1,355.85/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, May 8.
The domestic currency also depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.50 to trade at N1,853.68/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,845.18/£1, and against the Euro, it lost N9.37 to sell for N1,602.63/€1 versus N1,593.26/€1.
However, at the GTBank FX desk, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar yesterday by N3 to quote at N1,372/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing value of N1,375/$1, and at the parallel market, it traded flat at N1,380/$1.
Despite the volatile outcome of the local currency, it remained within the expected trading range, reflecting sustained FX stabilisation efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), supported by improved liquidity, stronger autonomous inflows, and better price discovery.
Traders point to further gains for the Naira into the coming week, thanks to Dollar supply from foreign investors, exporters and oil companies, while demand is moderate. Nigerian yields are still attractive for foreign investors, serving as a basis for more (FX) flows coming to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the country’s external reserves dropped by 3.4 per cent to $48.32 billion, from a 2009 high of $50.02 billion recorded on March 11.
In the cryptocurrency market, prices rallied after worries eased, following fresh US airstrikes in Iran that initially sparked a surge in oil prices and a broader risk-off move across crypto markets.
Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.8 per cent to sell at $80,212.54, Solana (SOL) gained 6.5 per cent to sell at $93.76, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 5.1 per cent to $0.2749, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 3.7 per cent to $0.1102, and Ripple (XRP) rose by 3.1 per cent to $1.42.
Further, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 2.3 per cent to $650.16, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 1.6 per cent to $2,315.48, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.1 per cent to $0.3515, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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