Stock Market Remains Flat as Investors Monitor #EndSARS Protest

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange continued its weekly positive run as it extended its gains by 0.41 per cent in the 38th week of trading in this year. The bullish posture was supported by the improvements in the share prices of six companies admitted to the alternative stock exchange in Nigeria. This increased the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) by  2.30 points from 805.65 points in the previous week to 808.95 points, as the market capitalisation of the bourse was relatively unchanged on a week-on-week at N1.140 trillion. Food Concepts Plc led the price gainers’ after

By Adedapo Adesanya A foreign oil company, Equinor ASA, has chosen a little-known Nigerian company, Chappal Energy, as the preferred buyer of its stake in one of the country’s largest deep-water oil fields, Agbami. According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, the Norwegian energy giant is trying to sell its 20.2 per cent interest in the Agbami field – joining other international producers such as Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Eni SpA in looking to offload assets in Africa’s biggest crude producer, Nigeria. In January, Equinor launched the sale of its stake in an offshore Nigerian oilfield, joining

By Bliss Okperan The exchange rate instability in the country is already giving small business owners sleepless nights and it threatens their investments. This concern was raised recently by the National Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Mr Segun Kuti-George. He emphasised that business owners would have to increase their prices because of the unavoidable consequence of the current exchange rate crisis in Nigeria. According to him, if consumers are unable to meet up with the increase in the cost of goods and services, businesses would be forced to shut down their operations, which would, in turn,

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed in the green territory after it chalked up by 0.37 per cent on Friday, September 22, as three securities finished on the price gainers’ chart and one stock closed in the price losers’ table. This raised the market capitalisation of the OTC Exchange by N4.24 billion to N1.143 trillion from the previous day’s N1.139 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) increased during the session by 3.00 points to finish at 808.95 points compared with Thursday’s 805.95 points. At the close of transactions, investors traded a total of 10.7

By Investors Hub European stocks rallied on Wednesday as investors cheered positive political developments in Italy, Britain and Hong Kong. Italian bonds climbed for a third day after Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte won backing to form a new government. British lawmakers will now move to pass a bill that will make a no-deal Brexit illegal after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a humiliating defeat over his Brexit strategy. Elsewhere, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has announced the formal withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill that triggered months of unrest. On the economic front, separate reports showed eurozone business growth

By Dipo Olowookere The relentless contributions being made by NEXIM Bank to the Nigerian non-oil export sector, especially in funding factories have received the recommendation of the House of Representatives. Chairman, House Committee on Banking and Currency, Mr Jones Chukwudi Onyereri, during a recent visit to Ladgroup Ltd, a foremost indigenous Nigerian conglomerate with a state of the art oil mill extraction factory located in Ikenne, Ogun State, said the bank has contributed to the growth of the country’s economy. He appealed to the Federal Government to increase funding support to institutions like NEXIM Bank, promising that his committee will

By Dipo Olowookere The operating profitability of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc is well below the sector average and among the weakest of all rated Nigerian banks, Fitch Ratings has revealed. This information was contained in a statement issued by the rating firm, which announced affirming the lender’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B-‘ with stable outlook. Fitch said however, the bank’s asset quality performance is healthy, particularly given challenging operating conditions in Nigeria, including tight local and foreign currency liquidity. It added that tight liquidity stems from the sharp fall in oil prices, which has adversely impacted

By Quantitative Financial Analytics NIFEX Spot The FMDQ NIFEX Spot remained unchanged at N315.125 for the second day in a row at the end of business on November 22, 2016. Open Interest and Volume Analysis Open interest in currency futures increased by 1.47%, (57.19) from 3,880.14 to 3,937.33 as investors rush to beat possible price increase by the CBN, a process that has come to characterize the currency futures market at each pre expiration  date. Mark to Market Analysis and Attribution The estimated Mark to Market (MTM) of open interest now stands at N214.57 billion, an increase of 1.51%, (N3.19

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has purchased two new multi-million-dollar tugboats, MT Musawa and MT Ikoro-Ekiti, to improve its capacity. The tugboats were commissioned by Mr Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of Transport, on Friday. He explained that the Damen’s 2810 model tugboats will aid the manoeuvring of vessels to berth and unberth, improve the turnaround time of vessels as well as the firefighting capacity at the ports. In his address, Mr Amaechi said the federal government places a lot of importance on the ports, adding that the fact that the ports have remained opened in spite of

By Kelvin Adegbenga When I read in the news of Bishop Matthew Kukah telling President Muhammadu Buhari to take responsibility, I asked my colleagues covering the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigerian (CBCN) in Akure, what kind of food did Matthew Kukah took before addressing them. Matthew Kukah reminded President Buhari that “Nigerians knew there was problem and voted him to power to solve them and not to be agonising, crying and blaming the previous governments”, but he forgot to address the massive corruption left behind by the Goodluck Jonathan administration which I believe Matthew Kukah benefited immensely from. This is

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated to N450 against the dollar at the parallel market segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Friday, May 29. This was boosted by the availability of forex in the market, which strengthened the local currency by N3 against the greenback at the domestic. At the previous session, the Nigerian currency had traded at N453/$1. At the same segment, the domestic currency gained N5 against the Pound to sell at N540/£1 as against N545/£1 it was sold the previous day and also appreciated by the same N5 against the Euro to close at N470/€1

By Dipo Olowookere One of the big players in the nation’s oil and gas sector, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, has promised to release it 2020 half-year results on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. The energy firm, in a statement on Monday, said it will also engage investors and analysts next week as soon as the financial statements are submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). “Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, a leading Nigerian energy company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, will issue its half-year 2020 financial results on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. “At 09:00am