Economy
Stock Market Regains 1.24% Despite Sell-Offs in Lafarge, 40 Others
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market returned to the positive territory on Wednesday on the back of bargain-hunting in Airtel Africa, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group, UAC Nigeria and others.
Business Post observed that investors used the opportunity of the panic selling to mop up shares trading at low prices and this resulted in the exchange growing by 1.24 per cent in the midweek session.
As a result, the All Share Index (ASI) improved by 641.77 points to 52,591.41 points from 51,949.64 points while the market capitalisation increased by N346 billion to N28.353 trillion from N28.007 trillion.
The domestic bourse closed with only 11 price gainers yesterday led by Chams, which gained 9.52 per cent to settle at 23 kobo and was trailed by Airtel Africa, which rose by 9.39 per cent to N1608.00.
FTN Cocoa appreciated by 6.06 per cent to trade at 35 kobo, Veritas Kapital improved its share price by 4.76 per cent to 22 kobo, while Royal Exchange went up by 3.64 per cent to N1.14.
A total of 41 equities depreciated in price on Wednesday, with McNichols and Champion Breweries recording the heaviest fall as they lost 10.00 per cent each to close at N1.98 and N3.42 respectively. PZ Cussons depreciated by 9.92 per cent to N11.35, Regency Assurance fell by 9.68 per cent to 28 kobo, while NEM Insurance declined by 9.25 per cent to N3.63.
As earlier stated, the mood of the market was weak during the midweek session as reflected in the market breadth and the performance of the sectors, which closed in the red zone due to heavy profit-taking.
The insurance sector deflated by 3.70 per cent, the banking index went down by 2.13 per cent, the consumer goods counter decreased by 1.33 per cent, the energy space crashed by 0.76 per cent, and the industrial goods sector declined by 0.40 per cent.
Unlike the previous day, the level of activity was low as the trading volume declined by 46.90 per cent to 382.5 million units from 720.2 million units, the trading value depreciated by 52.25 per cent to N4.2 billion from N8.9 billion, while the number of trades contracted by 2.85 per cent to 5,922 deals from 6,096 deals.
UAC Nigeria attracted the highest trading volume with a turnover of 48.2 million shares worth N618.6 million, UBA sold 31.9 million equities valued at N250.5 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.7 million stocks for N300.8 million, FBN Holdings traded 30.6 million equities valued at N327.3 million, while Transcorp transacted 27.3 million shares worth N32.4 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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