Economy
Stock Exchange Rises 1.40% on Gains in Dangote Cement, MTN
By Dipo Olowookere
Gains in Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria and nine others helped the stock exchange to close 1.40 per cent higher on Thursday.
During the market yesterday, the leading cement stock appreciated by N12.20 to settle at N134.20 per unit, while the foremost telco equity gained N1 to end at N120 per share.
Other top gainers on Thursday were Custodian Investment, which improved by 15 kobo to N5 per unit; Africa Prudential, which rose by 11 kobo to N4.12 per share; and Access Bank, which increased by 5 kobo to N6.20 per share.
According to data from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the market breadth closed at equilibrium yesterday with 11 price gainers and price losers each.
Business Post reports that while Dangote Cement was taking the market up on one side, its rival, BUA Cement, was pulling it down at the other end, but the former overcame. BUA Cement, which closed at N40 per unit, lost N1.45 to lead the losers’ table.
Dangote Sugar depreciated by 30 kobo to sell at N11.70 per share, Neimeth went down by 10 kobo to N1.40 per unit, Ecobank lost 5 kobo to finish at N4.20 per share, while GTBank declined by 5 kobo to close at N21.50 per unit.
The activity chart was in red yesterday following the 59.20 per cent drop in the total number of stocks transacted by investors. The value of the trades also went down by 53.32 per cent, while the number of deals depreciated by 8.18 per cent.
A total of 164.3 million stocks worth N2.1 billion exchanged hands in 2,986 deals on Thursday compared with 402.6 million units valued at N4.6 billion traded in 3,252 deals on Wednesday.
FBN Holdings was the most traded stock during the session, transacting 42.7 million units valued at N211.3 million, while Custodian Investment, which followed, traded 20.0 million shares for N100.2 million.
Zenith Bank transacted 17.9 million stocks worth N279.0 million, GTBank sold 11.7 million equities for N251.2 million, while UBA traded 8.4 million stocks valued at N51.5 million.
An analysis of the sectorial performance yesterday indicated that the industrial goods sector gained 3.26 per cent, while the insurance counter appreciated by 0.12 per cent.
However, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.23 per cent, while the banking space fell by 0.08 per cent, with the energy counter going down by 0.04 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 338.74 points to 24,512.27 points from 24,173.53 points, while the market capitalisation grew by N177 billion to N12.787 trillion from N12.610 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A 1.61 per cent fall was recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Tuesday, April 7, on the back of selling pressure.
The profit-taking chopped off N38.87 from the market capitalisation of the trading platform, leaving it at N2.378 trillion compared with the N2.417 trillion it ended last Thursday, when the bourse last witnessed trading activity.
Similarly, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 22.57 points to close the session at 3,975.34 points, in contrast to the preceding session’s 4,040.30 points.
The market breadth index was at equilibrium yesterday after recording three price gainers and three price losers, led by Okitipupa Plc, which depleted by N15.00 to N260.00 per share from N275.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc dipped by N6.31 to N71.69 per unit from N78.00 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc went down by N1.00 to N92.00 per share from N93.00 per share.
Conversely, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc appreciated by 20 Kobo to N2.28 per unit from N2.08 per unit, UBN Property Plc also improved by 20 Kobo to N2.18 per share from N1.98 per share, and Impresit Bakalori Plc gained 19 Kobo to sell at N2.20 per unit versus N2.01 per unit.
During the session, the volume of securities dipped by 99.7 per cent to 797,264 units from 260.2 million units, the value of securities went down by 83.1 per cent to N26.1 million from N154.2 million, and the number of deals decreased by 28.3 per cent to 33 deals from 46 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by CSCS Plc with 57.1 million units sold for N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units valued at N1.8 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira suffered a decline of N5.87 or 0.43 per cent against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, April 7, to trade at N1,386.66/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,380.79/$1.
It was the first trading day in the local currency market after it closed last Friday and Monday for the Easter holiday.
In the same market window, the Nigerian Naira also depreciated against the Pound Sterling during the session by N13.71 to sell for N1,838.57/£1 versus N1,824.86/£1, and lost N13.69 on the Euro to quote at N1,605.61/€1 versus N1,591.92/€1.
In the black market, the Nigerian currency maintained stability against the Dollar yesterday to remain unchanged at N1,4010/$1.
Despite the recent movement, analysts remain optimistic about the outlook of the currency in 2026, citing ongoing reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) said Naira stability in the first quarter of the year boosted business confidence, noting that the currency remains relatively stable during the period, trading within the N1,340 to N1,430 per Dollar band.
It attributed the stability to improved foreign exchange liquidity, stronger oil earnings, and rising external reserves, which had climbed above 50 billion dollars.
In the cryptocurrency market, prices rose after US President Donald Trump announced a two-week cease-fire with Iran, abruptly reversing days of bearish positioning.
The spike triggered roughly $595 million in crypto liquidations, with short positions making up about $427 million, marking the most aggressive short squeeze since early March. Short positions occur when investors profit from a decline in the price of an asset, so when prices rise, losses occur for the shorts.
Cardano (ADA) rose by 8.3 per cent to $0.2629, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 7.3 per cent to $2,249.69, Solana (SOL) added 6.6 per cent to sell for $84.67, Ripple (XRP) jumped 5.8 per cent to $1.38, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 5.1 per cent to $0.0949, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 5.0 per cent to $71,897.41, Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 3.3 per cent to $616.35, and TRON (TRX) gained 0.1 per cent to trade at $0.3160, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after the two-day break for Easter ended on a positive note, with a 0.16 per cent rise on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
The local stock exchange last opened its doors to investors last Thursday, and at the resumption of trading activities yesterday, market participants showed enthusiasm, mopping up shares in the banking ecosystem, and rescuing the bourse from the bears.
This returned Customs Street to the green territory, with the All-Share Index (ASI) growing by 324.21 points to 202,023.10 points from 201,698.89 points, and the market capitalisation up by N209 billion to N130.015 trillion from N129.806 trillion.
The expansion experienced during the session was inspired by three sectors, with the banking index up by 1.46 per cent, the energy space up by 0.12 per cent, and the consumer goods counter up by 0.10 per cent. But the insurance sector lost 1.37 per cent, and the industrial goods sector depreciated by 0.31 per cent.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment was bearish on Tuesday after a negative market breadth index caused by 25 price gainers and 36 price losers.
Ellah Lakes slumped by 10.00 per cent to N10.80, DAAR Communications gave up 9.95 per cent to trade at N1.72, Chams decreased by 9.87 per cent to N3.38, John Holt lost 9.71 per cent to finish at N13.95, and Sunu Assurances slipped by 9.68 per cent to N4.20.
On the flip side, Trans Nationwide Express gained 9.86 per cent to quote at N3.12, Omatek appreciated by 9.76 per cent to N2.25, Cadbury Nigeria improved by 9.53 per cent to N75.25, First Holdco rose by 9.10 per cent to N54.55, and Fortis Global Insurance chalked up 6.50 per cent to close at N1.31.
Trading data revealed that activity level improved during the session, with the trading volume up by 114.29 per cent to 1.2 billion shares from 560.0 million shares, the trading value surged by 108.81 per cent to N40.3 billion from N19.3 billion, and the number of deals soared by 57.03 per cent to 78,006 deals from 49,676 deals.
Wema Bank transacted 282.6 million equities valued at N7.3 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 125.2 million stocks worth N3.3 billion, VFD Group traded 106.8 million shares for N1.1 billion, First Holdco sold 63.0 million equities worth N3.2 billion, and GTCO exchanged 56.6 million shares valued at N7.1 billion.
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