Economy
Stock Market Gains N52bn as Buhari Floors Atiku at Tribunal
By Dipo Olowookere
The nation’s stock market closed 0.39 percent higher on Wednesday after suffering two consecutive losses this week as a result of profit taking activities by investors.
During yesterday’s session, the bulls chased out the bears from the market as investors kept an eye on proceedings at the election tribunal giving its ruling on the disputes from the February 2019 presidential election between President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his challenger, Mr Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
First feelers from the tribunal in Abuja gave clear indications that the President would retain his seat and this improved the level of confidence of investors, triggering buying pressure at the market.
Though the final judgement did not come before the close of transactions at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), earlier rulings dismissing some of the appeals of Mr Atiku on the legitimacy of Mr Buhari and others brought fresh air to the stock market.
At the end of the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 105.95 points to settle at 27,153.53 basis points from 27,047.58 basis points in the last session, while the market capitalization appreciated by N51.6 billion to finish at N13.210 trillion against N13.158 trillion on Tuesday.
But Business Post observed that despite the market closing bullish yesterday, the volume, value and number of deals executed depreciated by 41.92 percent, 70.18 percent and 5.70 percent respectively.
A total of 211.5 million shares worth N1.5 billion were exchanged by investors in 4,365 deals in the mid-week session compared with the 364.2 million equities valued at N4.9 billion transacted in 4,629 deals in the previous trading session.
Courtville recorded the highest volume of sales yesterday, closing with a turnover of 35.2 million units of its shares traded at N7.7 million.
It was followed by Sterling Bank, which traded 34.7 million shares worth N78.1 million, and Access Bank, which transacted 30 million equities valued at N208.4 million.
Furthermore, Transcorp exchanged 15.9 million units of its stocks worth N16.1 million during the trading day, while UBA sold 12.5 million shares worth N77.5 million.
An analysis of the price movement chart showed that yesterday, Nestle Nigeria topped the gainers’ table after a price appreciation of N40 to close at N1120 per unit.
Seplat trailed with a price growth of N24 to finish at N450 per share, CCNN gained 25 kobo to settle at N16.50k per share, May & Baker improved its share value by 19 kobo to end at N2.09k per unit, while FCMB garnered 9 kobo to close at N1.64k each.
At the other side, Guinness Nigeria closed as the day’s heaviest price loser after depreciating by 30 kobo to trade at N37 per share, while Stanbic IBTC went down by 25 kobo to finish at N35.75k per share.
Flour Mills also declined by 25 kobo to close at N13.25k per share, Dangote Flour shed 15 kobo to settle at N22.10k per unit, while UAC Nigeria depleted by 15 kobo to trade at N6.05k per share.
For the sectoral performance, only the insurance sector closed negative on Wednesday after going down by 1.25 percent.
The energy sector was the day’s highest gainer with 2.82 percent growth, the consumer goods index appreciated by 1.60 percent, banking stocks rose by 0.35 percent, while industrial sector appreciated by 0.16 percent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth 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 valued at N415.7 million.
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