Economy
Stock Market Crashes After Supreme Court Affirms Tinubu as President
By Dipo Olowookere
The stock market depleted by 0.18 per cent on Thursday after the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment, affirming Mr Bola Tinubu as the validly elected President in the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
After the presidential poll, Mr Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party went to the tribunal to upturn the victory of Mr Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, they failed as the Appeal Court last month said there was nothing wrong with the March 1, 2023, declaration of Mr Tinubu as President by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Dissatisfied, they went to the apex court to get their request granted but yesterday, the final court said nothing has changed, leaving them with no other option than to wait till 2027 to achieve their goals.
But the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited reacted negatively to the judgment, closing in the green territory as a result of mild selling pressure, particularly in the financial sector.
The insurance sector was the worst hit as it dropped 1.82 per cent, and banking space shed 0.33 per cent, while the consumer goods index gained 0.12 per cent, with the energy and industrial goods counters closing flat.
At the close of trading activities, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 121.21 points to 67,084.95 points from 67,206.16 points and the market capitalisation fell by N66 billion to N36.857 trillion from 36.923 trillion.
Secure Electonic Technology was the heaviest price loser on Thursday, going down by 10.00 per cent to 27 Kobo and was trailed by CWG, which declined by 9.94 per cent to N7.70. Thomas Wyatt lost 9.84 per cent to close at N4.03, International Breweries slumped by 9.78 per cent to N4.15, and Universal Insurance depreciated by 8.33 per cent to 22 Kobo.
Conversely, McNichols finished as the biggest price gainer after it chalked up 8.93 per cent to sell for 61 Kobo, UAC Nigeria rose by 6.09 per cent to N12.20, Oando appreciated by 4.07 per cent to N8.95, Chams expanded by 3.65 per cent to N1.99, and Nestle Nigeria grew by 2.94 per cent to N1,050.00.
Business Post reports that when the closing bell was beaten by 2:30 pm to signal the end of the trading day, the bourse was with 12 appreciating stocks and 29 depreciating equities, indicating a negative market breadth and very weak investor sentiment.
As for the activity chart, it was weak as the trading value increased by 15.91 per cent, while the trading volume went down by 18.81 per cent, and the number of deals shrank by 13.22 per cent.
A total of 267.7 million shares valued at N5.1 billion were traded in 5,205 deals yesterday versus the 329.6 million shares worth N4.4 billion transacted in 5,998 deals on Wednesday.
Fidelity Bank closed as the busiest equity during the session as it traded 39.8 million units valued at N326.9 million, Chams sold 23.5 million units for N46.4 million, Access Holdings exchanged 20.6 million units worth N347.8 million, UBA traded 19.0 million units valued at N357.3 million, and Japaul transacted 18.3 million units for N16.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 2.30 per cent, spurring the NASD Security Index (NSI) to close higher by 96.61 points to 4,296.34 points from 4,199.73 points, and raising the market capitalisation by N57.99 billion to N2.578 trillion from N2.521 trillion.
The market was up yesterday despite a lower activity level, as the volume of securities traded slumped by 94.7 per cent to 1.3 million units from the previous 23.9 million units. The value of securities slipped by 57.2 per cent to N29.2 million from the preceding session’s N68.2 million, while the number of deals executed by market participants increased by 6.7 per cent to 32 deals from the 30 deals carried out on Thursday.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion in trades, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 70.8 million units traded for N4.9 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
During the trading day, there were three price gainers and two price losers, led by Afriland Properties Plc, which shed N1.48 to sell at N15.17 per share compared with the previous session’s N16.65 per share, and Food Concepts Plc, which slid by 7 Kobo to close at N2.69 per unit versus N2.76 per unit.
Conversely, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved its value by N9.50 to trade at N150.00 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N140.50 per share, CSCS Plc went up by N7.95 to N89.65 per unit from N81.70 per unit, and 11 Plc soared by N6.94 to N206.95 per share from N200.01 per share.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited lost its footing by 0.07 per cent on Friday as a result of renewed profit-taking by investors.
The fall happened after Thomas Wyatt and Guinness Nigeria led other price losers group comprising 27 stocks at the market yesterday due to selling pressure.
Thomas Wyatt Nigeria shed 10.00 per cent to quote at N2.70, Guinness Nigeria drowned by 9.99 per cent to close at N329.00, Ikeja Hotel slipped by 9.96 per cent to N42.50, Zichis shed 9.94 per cent to trade at N26.37, and McNichols depreciated by 9.91 per cent to N5.00.
On the flip side, International Breweries gained 9.92 per cent to finish at N13.30, NEM Insurance appreciated by 9.61 per cent to N27.95, Jaiz Bank grew by 6.36 per cent to N9.20, UPDC expanded by 6.33 per cent to N4.20, and Livestock Feeds increased by 6.32 per cent to N9.25.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment remained bullish despite the loss recorded during the session, as there were 27 price decliners and 30 price advancers, representing a positive market breadth index.
Yesterday, market participants transacted 441.3 million equities for N19.4 billion in 44,938 deals compared with the 1.7 billion equities worth N112.0 billion traded in 44,780 deals a day earlier. This showed that the trading volume contracted by 74.04 per cent, the trading value declined by 82.68 per cent, and an uptick in the number of deals by 0.35 per cent.
Access Holdings led the activity chart on Friday after selling 40.2 million shares valued at N1.0 billion, Sterling Holdco traded 30.3 million stocks worth N228.8 million, Fidelity Bank sold 26.3 million equities for N505.6 million, Zenith Bank transacted 22.3 million shares valued at N2.5 billion, and First Holdco exchanged 19.0 million stocks worth N1.3 billion.
During the last trading session of the week, the consumer goods sector rose by 0.49 per cent, the insurance counter increased by 0.06 per cent, and the industrial goods index closed flat, while the banking and energy indices lost 0.78 per cent and 0.52 per cent, respectively.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) shrank by 159.97 points to 243,798.76 points from 243,958.73 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by N103 billion to N156.445 trillion from N156.548 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira performed poorly against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, July 10, losing N1.19 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,379.62/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,378.43/$1.
It also depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading session by N3.80 to trade at N1,850.62/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,846.82/£1, but gained 43 Kobo on the Euro to sell at N1,575.66/€1 versus the preceding day’s N1,576.09/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N1 to quote at N1,386/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,835/$1, and maintained stability in the black market at N1.400/$1.
Data showed that interbank FX turnover fell by about 10 per cent on Friday to $71.044 million from $78.708 million the previous day. Also, interbank forex market deals reduced to 87 from 106 trades executed at the window on Thursday.
The total forex inflows into the Nigerian foreign exchange market have been fluctuating, with about $1 billion in total inflows reported last week.
Total FX inflows settled at $0.99 billion last week, according to the research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank, with Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) accounting for the largest share at 35.81 per cent, or $0.35 billion.
Exporters accounted for 28.72 per cent or $0.28 billion, while the CBN contributed 11.15 per cent or $0.11 billion. Non-Bank Corporations also made up a notable 10.92 per cent of total inflows, reflecting continued support from both market-driven and official sources.
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin rose above $64,100, retesting the price level that rejected it on Monday, with a clean break above, opening the path toward the June 15 high of $67,250. It gained 0.3 per cent to sell at $64,114.16.
Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 1.6 per cent to $1,798.81, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.6 per cent to $0.0742, Binance Coin (BNB) added 0.6 per cent to sell for $576.47, Cardano (ADA) also grew by 0.6 per cent to $0.1674, and Ripple (XRP) jumped by 0.4 per cent to $1.10.
But Solana (SOL) lost 1.1 per cent to settle at $77.95, and TRON (TRX) declined by 0.2 per cent to $0.3296, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
