Economy
Renewed Interest in Local Equities Further Lifts Market by 0.79%
By Dipo Olowookere
The low yield environment in the fixed income market is already making investors have a second look at the equities segment of the capital market in Nigeria.
In the past few days, more trades have been witnessed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to drop the benchmark interest rate in the country to 11.5 per cent on Tuesday may have fuelled a renewed interest in stocks.
This is because investing in shares seems to be the most profitable business to do now at the capital market especially when rates are very low in other market segments; savings deposit at 1.15 per cent, treasury bills as low as 1.09 per cent, 10-year bond at 6.00 per cent.
During trading on the NSE on Thursday, the market closed 0.79 per cent and this subsequently increased the All-Share Index (ASI) by 204.12 points to 25,987.14 points from 25,783.02 points and raised the market capitalisation by N106 billion to N13.581 trillion from N13.475 trillion.
A total of 359.3 million shares worth N3.9 billion were traded in 3,576 deals yesterday compared with the 414.1 million stocks worth N6.3 billion transacted in 3,793 deals the previous session, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 13.24 per cent, 38.32 per cent and 5.72 per cent respectively.
Sterling Bank was the most traded stock of the day, transacting 71.9 million units worth N83.4 million, while GTBank followed with 51.7 million shares valued at N1.4 billion.
Zenith Bank traded 44.5 million stocks worth N759.1 million, Fidelity Bank transacted 37.1 million equities for N67.0 million, while Flour Mills exchanged 29.4 million stocks for N588.3 million.
Business Post reports that the market closed with 25 price gainers and eight price losers yesterday and the risers’ gang was led by Nigerian Breweries, which added N4.35 to its share value to finish at N47.85 per unit.
Mobil Nigeria gained N2 to settle at N195.10 per unit, Dangote Cement rose by N1.20 to sell for N135.90 per share, Lafarge Africa appreciated by 90 kobo to end at N14.10 per unit, while GTBank gained 50 kobo to trade at N26 per share.
On the loser’s chart, Ardova occupied the top spot after shedding N1.10 to close at N10.30 per share, Unilever Nigeria lost 80 kobo to finish at N13.60 per share, Red Star Express depreciated by 25 kobo to trade at N3 per unit, CAP lost 10 kobo to finish at N17 per share, while Daar Communications declined by 3 kobo to quote at 30 kobo per share.
The consumer goods, banking and industrial goods sectors performed well on Thursday, closing higher by 2.09 per cent, 1.59 per cent and 0.86 per cent respectively, while the insurance and energy counters closed lower by 0.68 per cent and 0.18 per cent respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
