Economy
Rush for Defensive Stocks Keeps NGX in Positive Territory by 0.31%
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock market appreciated by 0.31 per cent on Wednesday as the bulls tightened their grip on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on sustained bargain-hunting.
Data showed that the buying pressure was on almost all the sub-sectors of the bourse, particularly on some defensive stocks like GTCO, Zenith Bank, and others.
However, the industrial goods space saw a bit of profit-taking, especially in Lafarge Africa. Also, MTN witnessed a sell-down during the midweek session.
Business Post reports that the consumer goods rose by 1.09 per cent, the banking space improved by 0.96 per cent, the energy index appreciated by 0.49 per cent, the insurance counter jumped by 0.48 per cent, and the industrial goods sector depreciated by 0.10 per cent.
The gains from others raised the All-Share Index (ASI) higher by 161.53 points at the close of business to 52,580.86 points from 52,419.33 points, and the market capitalisation expanded by N88 billion to N28.631 trillion from N28.543 trillion.
The market was quite busy yesterday as investors bought and sold 680.8 million stocks worth N7.9 billion in 6,666 deals, in contrast to the 576.9 million stocks worth N6.8 billion traded on Tuesday in 6,143 deals, implying an increase in the trading volume, value and the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, 16.18 per cent, and 8.51, respectively.
Fidelity Bank topped the chart with the sale of 254.1 million equities valued at N1.4 billion, trailed by Access Holdings with 112.8 million shares valued at N1.1 billion, Transcorp sold 63.4 million equities worth N185.6 million, GTCO traded 60.0 million shares for N1.6 billion, and Zenith Bank exchanged 31.7 million stocks worth N794.4 million.
Investor sentiment was very strong on Wednesday as the stock exchange finished with 29 appreciating equities and 18 depreciating equities, representing a positive market breadth.
MRS Oil chalked up 9.93 per cent to top the gainers’ log, closing at N37.10, as Nigerian Breweries appreciated by 9.63 per cent to N38.70. Cornerstone Insurance increased its value by 9.46 per cent to 81 Kobo, FTN Cocoa leapt by 8.82 per cent to 37 Kobo, and Royal Exchange rose by 8.33 per cent to 52 Kobo.
Conversely, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance lost 7.69 per cent to trade at 60 Kobo, Sovereign Trust Insurance shrank by 6.52 per cent to 43 Kobo, Transcorp slumped by 5.23 per cent to N2.90, Caverton contracted by 4.76 per cent to N1.00, and Coronation Insurance slipped by 4.44 per cent to 43 Kobo.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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