Economy
Stock Market Down 0.01% as Investors Await CBN Decision on Interest Rate
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal decline of 0.01 per cent was suffered by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) commenced.
The downfall of the stock market occurred as investors embarked on cautious trading as they await the outcome of the MPC meeting on interest rate and others on Tuesday.
The Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, will update investors and other stakeholders of the decisions of the group, though analysts believe the rates will likely be left unchanged again because of the moderation in inflation rate in April 2025 to 23.71 per cent.
At Customs Street yesterday, profit-taking dominated, resulting in the All-Share Index (ASI) losing 12.31 points to 109,697.83 points from 109,710.14 points and the market capitalisation shedding N8 billion to settle at N68.945 trillion compared with the previous session’s N68.953 trillion.
The bears found a home at the banking space during the trading session, crippling its index by 0.74 per cent at the close of business activities.
However, the other sectors closed green, with the consumer goods space rising by 1.55 per cent, the insurance space growing by 0.56 per cent, the energy counter expanding by 0.19 per cent, the industrial goods index going up by 0.17 per cent, and the commodity sector increasing by 0.13 per cent.
The bourse finished with 46 appreciating equities and 23 depreciating equities, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Tantalizers and Ikeja Hotel gained 10.00 per cent each to trade at N2.53 and N15.40 apiece, Beta Glass advanced by 9.98 per cent to N258.50, Champion Breweries improved by 9.97 per cent to N7.50, and Northern Nigeria Flour Mills also jumped by 9.97 per cent to N131.85.
On the flip side, The Initiates fell by 10.00 per cent to N6.12, ABC Transport deflated by 9.83 per cent to N2.66, University Press crashed by 9.77 per cent to N3.97, FTN Cocoa tumbled by 9.65 per cent to N2.34, and RT Briscoe depreciated by 9.52 per cent to N1.90.
During the session, investors transacted 486.1 million shares valued at N11.4 billion in 24,883 deals compared with the 428.8 million shares worth N8.5 billion exchanged in 16,338 deals last Friday, implying a rise in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 13.36 per cent, 34.12 per cent, and 52.30 per cent, respectively.
Access Holdings was the most active stock on Monday with a turnover of 45.1 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Fidelity Bank sold 39.4 million units for N799.7 million, GTCO transacted 32.4 million units worth N2.2 billion, Cutix exchanged 24.1 million units for N67.0 million, and UBA traded 20.6 million units valued at N716.7 million.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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