Economy
Stock Market Gains 0.58% Amid Aggressive Purchase of GTCO, Others
By Dipo Olowookere
The market had a breather on Tuesday, appreciating by 0.58 per cent after the previous day’s poor performance as a result of cautious trading.
Yesterday, the aggressive purchase of GTCO stocks and others provided the needed succour, though traders are still monitoring happenings in the political space as the nation prepares to head to the polls next year.
When transactions closed on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 256.23 points to 44,655.89 points from 44,399.66 points, while the market capitalisation rose by N138 billion to N24.060 trillion from N23.922 trillion.
Skyway Aviation was the highest price riser during the session with 10.00 per cent to trade at N5.83, followed by Courtville, which grew by 8.57 per cent to 38 kobo.
FTN Cocoa appreciated by 8.33 per cent to 39 kobo, Dangote Sugar gained 7.35 per cent to trade at N18.25, while Berger Paints chalked up 5.84 per cent to close at N8.15.
Conversely, NEM Insurance suffered the biggest loss with 8.33 per cent to trade at N3.63, followed by Sunu Assurances, which lost 5.88 per cent to quote at 32 kobo.
Regency Assurance fell by 4.26 per cent to 45 kobo, Sovereign Trust Insurance went down by 4.00 per cent to 24 kobo, while Coronation Insurance depleted by 3.92 per cent to 49 kobo.
Business Post reports that when the market closed for the day, there were 27 appreciating stocks and 13 depreciating stocks, indication a robust positive investor sentiment.
However, the activity level was mixed with the trading volume rising by 9.76 per cent to 235.2 million from 214.3 million, while the trading value dropped 28.65 per cent to N1.9 billion from N2.7 billion and the number of deals fell by 5.87 per cent to 4,151 deals from 4,410 deals.
Transcorp topped the activity chart with a turnover of 38.1 million shares worth N40.1 million, followed by GTCO with 18.7 million stocks valued at N476.5 million.
Further, Jaiz Bank sold 15.0 million equities worth N9.8 million, Ecobank exchanged 14.5 million shares for N126.3 million, while FBN Holdings transacted 13.4 million stocks worth N161.1 million.
In terms of the performance of the five major sectors of the market, the banking space grew by 0.98 per cent, the industrial goods counter went up by 0.79 per cent, the consumer goods index rose by 0.69 per cent, the energy index appreciated by 0.25 per cent, while the insurance sector dropped 1.61 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as 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 traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
