Economy
Stock Market Loses N147b as Political Tension Heightens
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The first trading day of the month of August 2018 started on bearish note with the political tension in the country gradually taking its toll on the stock market.
In the past few days, politicians in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had been defecting to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with the Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, announcing his defection last night and the Governor of Sokoto State, Mr Aminu Tambuwal, announcing his today.
With this cross-carpeting heating up the polity ahead of the 2019 general elections, investors are trading cautiously so as not to be caught unawares.
Business Post reports that on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday, investors embarked on profit-taking, leaving the market pointing south at the close of business.
Our correspondent reports that the local stock market depreciated today by 1.09 percent with the Year-to-Date (YtD) returns closing at -4.26 percent.
In addition, while the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased on Wednesday by 404.95 points to close at 36,612.83 points, the market capitalization reduced by N147 billion to settle at N13.263 trillion.
Like in the previous session, the market breadth finished negative with 22 stocks appreciating in value as against the 24 equities, which depreciated at the close of transactions on Wednesday.
Nestle Nigeria led the price losers’ table today after shedding N40 to finish the day at N1560 per share.
It was followed by International Breweries, which fell by N3.60k to close at N33.40k per share, and CAP, which declined by N3.50k to end at N31.50k per share.
Dangote Cement depreciated by N3 to close at N231 per share, while Nigerian Breweries lost N2 to settle at N103 per share.
On the other side, it was a rewarding session for Total Nigeria as the stock appreciated by N7 to settle at N190 per share.
Okomu Oil gained N6.30k to end at N81 per share, while Beta Glass increased by N1.05k to move up to N78 per share.
Lafarge went up by 50 kobo to close at N28 per share, while Ecobank garnered 25 kobo to finish at N20.80k per share.
Business Post reports further that at the close of trading today, the volume of shares bought and sold by investors decreased by 1.94 percent, while the value increased by 10.91 percent.
A total of 240.2 million exchanged hands today in 3,494 deals worth N5 billion compared with the 245 million equities worth N4.5 billion transacted yesterday at the stock market.
Like it happened on Tuesday, financial stocks dominated the activity chart on Wednesday with 191.9 million shares sold for N2.8 billion, while stocks in the Consumer Goods space followed with 22.7 million units transacted for N1.8 billion.
A further breakdown showed that Zenith Bank shares emerged the most traded at the market today with a total of 94.9 million units traded for N2.2 billion.
It was followed by United Bank for Africa (UBA), which exchanged 28.7 million units valued at N271.9 million, and Nigerian Breweries, which traded 15.1 million units worth N1.6 billion.
Fidelity Bank sold 12.6 million shares for N23.6 million, while Sterling Bank transacted 8.2 million equities worth N11.7 million.
A look at the performances of the sectors in the market showed that while the NSEFBT10 lost 2.31 percent, the NSEBNK10 went down by 0.66 percent and the NSEIND declined by 0.42 percent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shareholders of Unilever Nigeria Plc will receive an interim dividend of N2 per share, the board of the organisation has said.
The cash reward was announced after the company released its financial statements for the first half of the year ended June 30, 2026.
The payment will be made on Friday, August 14, 2026, only to investors whose names appear on the Register of Members at the close of business on Friday, July 31, 2026.
A quick look at the financial performance of the firm in the first six months of this year showed that revenue improved by 22.22 per cent to N119.9 billion from the N98.1 billion achieved in the corresponding period of last year.
A rise in earnings also resulted in a 16.43 per cent surge in cost of sales, though this did not shrink the gross profit, which rose by 29.93 per cent to N54.7 billion from N42.1 billion. The operating profit stood at N24.4 billion in the period under review, higher than N18.8 billion in the same period of 2025, while the net finance income contracted by 9.43 per cent to N4.8 billion from N5.3 billion due to elevated borrowing costs.
Business Post reports that despite higher taxes paid in the first six months of 2026, the net profit grew by 8.33 per cent to N15.6 billion from N14.4 billion, enabling the board to pass on value to shareholders for their faith in the firm.
