Economy
Stock Investors Gain N1.1trn Thursday as Market Cap Hits N18.468trn

By Dipo Olowookere
More than N1 trillion was gained by investors on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday in an unusual trading session.
Yesterday was an extraordinary day at the nation’s stock market because, for the first time since the exchange introduced a circuit breaker in 2016, it was used when the index rose beyond the first threshold of 5 per cent.
During the session, trading activities were halted for 30 minutes because the benchmark performance indicator was going above the ceiling and in order to calm things down, the breaker was triggered.
At the close of transactions, after activities resumed an hour to end of trading at 2.30pm, the market gained 6.23 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 2,074.10 points to 35,342.46 points from 33,268.36 points, while the market capitalisation went up by N1.1 trillion to N18.468 trillion from N17.384 trillion.
There was a significant rise in the level of activity yesterday as the trading volume jumped by 39.00 per cent to 1.2 billion stocks from 858.2 million stocks traded on Wednesday.
Also, the trading value increased by 91.95 per cent to N17.4 billion from N9.1 billion, while the number of deals appreciated by 31.47 per cent to 10,704 deals from 8,142 deals.
A total of 161.4 million shares of Zenith Bank valued at N4.5 billion were traded yesterday, leaving the company to finish the session as the most active on the NSE.
FBN Holdings transacted 121.5 million units worth N1.0 billion, Access Bank traded 100.9 million shares valued at N992.8 million, UBA exchanged 80.5 million equities for N770.4 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 79.5 million stocks worth N239.5 million.
The highest price gainer of the day was Nestle Nigeria, which added N50 to its share value to close at N1450 per unit and was followed by Airtel Nigeria, which gained N41 to close at N451.20 per unit.
Dangote Cement rose by N15 to settle at N200 per share, Presco depreciated by N7.25 to sell at N79.75 per unit, while Nigerian Breweries increased by N5.60 to trade at N63.10 per share.
The biggest price loser was Eterna, which fell by 50 kobo to trade at N4.57 per unit, while Global Spectrum Energy Services lost 46 kobo to quote at N4.19 per share.
May & Baker depreciated by 35 kobo to N3.25 per unit, Morison Industries dropped 5 kobo to trade at 49 kobo per share, while NEM Insurance declined by 5 kobo to N2.20 per unit.
The industrial goods sector was the best-performer yesterday, rising by 8.65 per cent and was trailed by the banking counter, which grew by 7.94 per cent.
The consumer goods space appreciated by 5.81 per cent, the insurance sector appreciated by 4.78 per cent, while the energy space went up by 1.98 per cent.
Economy
Naira Remains Stable at N1,500/$1 at Official Market

By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira closed flat against the United States Dollar at N1,500.65/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, February 7, after recording losses in four straight sessions in the trading week.
The recent pressure on the market across majorly regulated channels came despite recent policy moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) creating more trading transparency and ethical practices.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N8.78 to trade at N1,868.76/£1 compared with the previous day’s rate of N1,859.98/£1 and against the Euro, it weakened by N1.95 to settle at N1,557.13/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,555.18/€1.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value further against the US Dollar on Friday by N5 to sell for N1,565/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,570/$1.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it slumped yesterday after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said the country’s economy added 143,000 jobs in January, below the forecast 170,000 and down from 256,000 in December.
Ethereum (ETH) declined by 4.5 per cent to sell at $2,615.76, Cardano slumped 4.3 per cent to trade at $0.6949, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 1.9 per cent to settle at $103.35, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 1.7 per cent to $0.2476, Solana (SOL) recorded a 1.4 per cent loss to close at $193.39, Bitcoin (BTC) depleted by 1.2 per cent to $96,138.53, and Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 1.1 per cent to quote at $578.78.
On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) gained 1.8 per cent to trade at $2.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat $1.00 each.
Economy
Oil Prices up on Fresh Iran Crude Export Sanctions

By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices went up on Friday after new sanctions were imposed on Iran’s crude exports, with Brent crude futures expanding by 37 cents or 0.5 per cent to $74.66 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures growing by 39 cents or 0.55 per cent to $71.00 a barrel.
However, for the week, prices were down by 2 per cent as investors worried about US President Donald Trump’s renewed trade war with China and threats of tariffs on other countries.
Reports of planned tariffs from the Trump administration reined in gains following the sanctions announced on Thursday.
The American president on Friday said he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries by Monday or Tuesday of next week.
President Trump did not identify which countries would be hit but suggested it would be a broad effort that could also help solve US budget problems.
However, Mr Trump’s Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick voiced concerns about India’s high tariff rates, while US Trade Representative nominee Jamieson Greer discussed US complaints about Vietnam’s and Brazil’s tariffs and trade barriers.
He had earlier announced a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports as part of a broad plan to improve the US trade balance, but suspended plans to impose steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
But market analysts noted that this could be a major escalation of his offensive to tear up and reshape global trade relationships in the US favour.
On Thursday, it imposed new sanctions on a few individuals and tankers helping to ship millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil per year to China as it intensified war against Iran.
Iran’s President, Mr Masoud Pezeshkian, called on its fellow members in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to stand united against ‘destabilizing’ US sanctions, meeting with OPEC Secretary General Khaitam al-Ghais as the country assumes the rotating presidency of the organisation.
Economy
Bulls Tighten Grip on Nigerian Exchange With 0.48% Growth

By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited appreciated further by 0.48 per cent on Friday after market participants showed no signs of slowing down in their hunt for stocks with sound fundamentals.
During the session, all the key sectors of the bourse witnessed bargain-hunting activities, with the banking counter growing by 1.72 per cent.
Further, the insurance index expanded by 1.64 per cent, the industrial goods sector jumped by 0.77 per cent, the consumer goods industry rose by 0.11 per cent and the energy space also gained 0.11 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 502.88 points to 105,933.03 points from the 105,430.15 points it ended a day earlier, and the market capitalisation gained 0.47 per cent or N305 billion to settle at N65.592 trillion compared with Thursday’s N65.287 trillion.
A total of 37 equities ended on the gainers’ chart yesterday and 17 equities on the losers’ table, implying a strong investor sentiment and positive market breadth index.
Academy Press appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N2.99, Cadbury Nigeria also improved its value by 9.93 per cent to N29.35, Eterna rose by 9.90 per cent to N36.65, Livestock Feeds expanded by 9.85 per cent to N5.80, and UPDC soared by 9.75 per cent to N2.59.
On the flip side, Multiverse lost 9.95 per cent to close at N9.05, MeCure Industries shed 9.71 per cent to N12.55, NPF Microfinance Bank slumped by 7.94 per cent to N1.74, Learn Africa declined by 4.44 per cent to N4.30, and Tantalizers soured by 3.85 per cent to N2.00.
Investors transacted 468.2 million shares worth N13.2 billion in 12,612 deals on the last trading session of the week compared with the 537.2 million shares valued at N23.0 billion traded in 15,450 deals in the preceding session, representing a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 12.84 per cent, 42.61 per cent and 18.37 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock for the day was Zenith Bank with a turnover of 108.8 million units worth N5.0 billion, Cutix traded 24.3 million units valued at N58.7 million, Access Holdings exchanged 23.6 million units for N657.7 million, Sterling Holdings transacted 22.8 million units valued at N136.0 million, and Fidelity Bank sold 20.4 million units worth N426.3 million.
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