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Economy

Stock Exchange Sheds 1.32% as Inflation Sways Investors

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Lagos Customs Street stock exchange

By Dipo Olowookere

The local stock exchange lost 1.32 per cent on Thursday, putting a halt to the two-day positive momentum triggered by the suspension of Mr Godwin Emefiele as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor.

Business Post observed that investors were swayed by the inflation numbers released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) during the trading session.

According to the NBS, inflation for May 2023 increased by 22.41 per cent as a result of the surge in the prices of food in Nigeria.

This information rattled traders at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, causing profit-taking as they liquidate their equities for cash, though their eyes remain on some downstream stocks in the market.

This resulted in the 12.12 per cent growth posted by the energy sector at the close of transactions.

However, this was not enough to keep the market northwards, as it pointed to the opposite direction after the banking index lost 4.16 per cent, the insurance space crashed by 0.67 per cent, the consumer goods index fell by 0.44 per cent, and the industrial goods counter depreciated by 0.21 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) moderated by 789.89 points to 59,195.21 points from 59,985.10 points, while the market capitalisation deflated by N430 billion to N32.232 trillion from N32.662 trillion.

Investor sentiment was weak yesterday as 40 stocks finished on the losers’ chart and 36 stocks ended on the gainers’ table, indicating a negative market breadth index.

Sunu Assurances lost 10.00 per cent to trade at 45 Kobo, Cornerstone Insurance fell by 9.73 per cent to N1.02, McNichols depreciated by 9.33 per cent to 68 Kobo, Access Holdings went down by 9.24 per cent to N14.25, and RT Briscoe declined by 8.82 per cent to 31 Kobo.

During the session, the trio of MRS Oil, Transcorp Hotel, and Total Energies gained 10.00 per cent each to quote at N68.75, N13.31, and N336.70 apiece, as Ikeja Hotel rose by 9.97 per cent to N3.31, and eTranzact improved by 9.92 per cent to N5.32.

The most traded stock on Thursday was UBA, which exchanged 192.8 million units valued at N2.4 billion, Access Holdings traded 121.5 million units valued at N2.0 billion, Fidelity Bank transacted 102.6 million units worth N726.7 million, GTCO exchanged 99.9 million units worth N3.3 billion, and Sterling Bank sold 79.3 million units for N238.3 million.

Data from the bourse revealed that investors traded 1.2 billion equities worth N15.4 billion in 12,611 deals yesterday compared with the 1.3 billion worth N21.1 billion traded in 11,947 deals a day earlier, implying an increase in the number of deals by 5.56 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and value by 7.69 per cent and 27.01 per cent, respectively.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via dipo.olowookere@businesspost.ng

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Economy

NASD Index Gains 0.74%

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NGX Index

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated by 0.74 per cent on Wednesday, January 22 as a result of buying pressure on the market.

Yesterday, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) garnered 22.86 points to wrap the session at 3,123.19 points compared with 3,100.33 points recorded in the previous session, as the value of the unlisted securities market went up at midweek by N5 billion to close at N1.076 trillion, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1.071 trillion.

The alternative bourse ended with three price gainers and two price losers at the Wednesday session.

Mixta Real Estate Plc improved its value by 25 Kobo to end at N2.83 per unit compared with the previous day’s N2.58 per unit, Okitipupa Plc jumped by N3.56 to close at N43.55 per share versus N39.99 per share, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc added 2 Kobo to settle at 39 Kobo per unit compared with Tuesday’s trading price of 37 Kobo per unit.

On the flip side, UBN Property Plc lost 16 Kobo to end at N1.86 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.00 per share, and Mass Telecomm Innovation Plc went down by 1 Kobo to 41 Kobo per unit from 40 Kobo per unit.

During the session, there was a 216.2 per cent rise in the volume of securities traded to 581,160 units from 183,780 units, the value of securities traded by investors decreased by 48.9 per cent to N2.3 million from N4.5 million, while the number of deals increased by 84.6 per cent to 24 deals from 13 deals.

When the bourse closed for the day, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc was the stock with the highest trading volume (year-to-date) with 25.3 million units valued at N5.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units sold for N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.

By value, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc topped the activity chart after selling 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units sold for N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with 55,358 valued at N14.5 million.

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Economy

Naira Value Strengthens at Official, Parallel Markets

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Naira-Dollar exchange rate gap

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Naira recorded improvements in the official and black markets on Wednesday as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced its intention to launch an FX code designed to boost the integrity of the market.

The apex bank explained the code will serve as a guideline for the ethical conduct of FX dealers in the Nigerian forex landscape.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code as a guideline to the banking industry to promote the ethical conduct of Authorised Dealers in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.

“The bank will formally launch the code at the CBN Head Office Auditorium, Abuja, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025,” a statement from the regulator read.

At the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) segment of the forex market window, the local currency gained 0..01 per cent or 20 Kobo against the US Dollar to close at N1,552.58/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.78/$1.

However, the domestic currency depreciated against the British Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N8.55 to wrap the session at N1,915.53/£1 compared with Tuesday’s N1,906.98/£1 and against the Euro, the Naira lost N4.24 to sell for N1,617.72/€1 versus N1,613.48/€1.

At the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the greenback yesterday by N10 to quote at N1,660/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,670/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, it was bearish after it was clarified that an earlier leak on the website of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), showing regulated XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL) futures could start trading on February 10 pending regulatory approval, was an error.

This, coupled with profit-taking from the Mr Donald Trump rally, saw Dogecoin (DOGE) fall by 3.9 per cent to $0.3537, as Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 3.1 per cent to quote at $3,213.39, and Bitcoin (BTC) depleted by 3.0 per cent to trade at $102,654.79.

Further, Cardano slumped by 2.9 per cent to $0.9708, Litecoin (LTC) weakened by 2.7 per cent to $113.62, Solana (SOL) recorded a 2.5 per cent depreciation to sell at $249.58, Binance Coin (BNB) shed 1.9 per cent to close at $686.40, and Ripple (XRP) dropped 1.2 per cent to end at $3.14, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

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Economy

Oil Extends Loss as Market Weigh Wider Trump Sanctions

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Opumami oil field

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil fell further on Wednesday as the market considers how the US President, Mr Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs could affect global economic growth and demand for energy.

Brent futures declined by 29 cents or 0.4 per cent during the session to settle at $79.00 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 39 cents or 0.5 per cent to trade at $75.44 per barrel.

Possible sanctions under the new Trump administration remain unclear, with possible tariffs related to Canada and Mexico now seemingly at the forefront of trader uncertainties.

The American president also vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs and said his administration was discussing a 10 per cent duty on Chinese imports because the narcotic fentanyl is being sent from China to the US via Mexico and Canada.

Mr Trump had previously threatened a 10 per cent duty on Chinese imports but realigned that with the February 1 deadline.

On its part, China said it was willing to maintain communication with the US and sought to promote stable and sustainable ties.

In Europe, French President, Mr Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor, Mr Olaf Scholz, insisted Europe was strong while expecting difficulties due to threats of tariffs from the US.

The US president also said his administration would “probably” stop buying oil from Venezuela, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) under US sanctions.

The US imported about 200,000 barrels per day of oil from Venezuela during the first 10 months of 2024, up from an average of 100,000 barrels per day in 2023, according to the latest data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in November jumped to their highest in eight months while Libya is planning to boost its crude refining capacity from the current 300,000 barrels per day to 400,000 barrels per day.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US increased by 1 million barrels for the week ending January 17. For the week prior, the API reported a draw of 2.6 million barrels in US crude oil inventories amid build season, while product inventories saw a hefty build for multiple weeks in a row.

In 2024, crude oil inventories dropped by more than 12 million barrels, according to the API’s inventory data, with the downward trend continuing beyond the new year.

Official data from the US EIA will be released later on Thursday with both weekly reports delayed by a day due to the US Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday.

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