Economy
Stock Market Down 0.19% CBN Directive on Dividend Payouts Sways Investors
By Dipo Olowookere
The directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to banks in the country, particularly those on life support, prohibiting them from paying dividends to shareholders and issuing bonuses to directors took a toll on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday.
Yesterday, the stock market was down by 0.19 per cent as a result of this information, triggering profit-taking by investors.
Data obtained by Business Post indicated that apart from the industrial goods index, which grew by 0.42 per cent, every other sector ended in red territory at the close of transactions.
The worst-hit was the commodity space, which lost 4.52 per cent, the consumer goods counter depreciated by 2.73 per cent, the energy sector fell by 2.66 per cent, the banking space shed 1.19 per cent, and the insurance counter weakened by 0.49 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 222.37 points to 115,238.24 points from 115,460.61 points and the market capitalisation crashed by N141 billion to N72.667 trillion from N72.808 trillion.
Unlike in the last trading session, investor sentiment was weak on Monday after Customs Street finished with 21 price gainers and 43 price losers, representing a negative market breadth index.
Northern Nigeria Flour Mills moderated by 10.00 per cent to N101.30, C&I Leasing slipped by 9.68 per cent to N4.20, University Press stumbled by 9.27 per cent to N4.99, Deap Capital gave up 8.99 per cent to sell for 81 Kobo, and Learn Africa dipped by 8.43 per cent to sell for N3.80.
On the flip side, Guinea Insurance gained 10.00 per cent to quote at 77 Kobo, Ellah Lakes chalked up 9.93 per cent to settle at N4.76, Legend Internet appreciated by 9.87 per cent to N7.79, Royal Exchange improved by 9.68 per cent to N1.02, and Fidson regained 9.64 per cent to end at N42.10.
Yesterday, the bourse recorded a turnover of 618.6 million shares valued at N19.0 billion 18,835 deals compared with the sale of 920.1 million shares worth N17.5 billion traded in 20,167 deals last Friday, implying an 8.57 per cent growth in the trading value, a 32.77 per cent drop in the trading volume, and a 6.60 per cent shortfall in the number of deals.
Access Holdings was the busiest equity at the market on Monday with 92.7 million units valued at N1.9 billion, UBA exchanged 91.4 million units for N3.1 billion, Zenith Bank sold 76.9 million units worth N3.6 billion, Fidelity Bank transacted 50.0 million units valued at N884.0 million, and GTCO traded 40.5 million units worth N2.9 billion.
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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