Economy
Stock Market Value Decreases to N14.456trn
By Dipo Olowookere
The total value of stocks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) decreased on Friday by N57 billion to N14.456 trillion from N14.513 trillion.
This reduction was majorly the handiwork of profit-takers, who pounced on the market, leading to a 0.39 percent decline at the close of transactions for the day.
Their activities also led to the shedding of 108.97 points by the All-Share Index (ASI) to 27,755.87 points from 27,864.84 points it ended the previous trading day.
Business Post reports that the 0.71 percent growth printed by the banking counter on Friday was not enough to have a positive impact on the bourse as the loss in the insurance sector and others suppressed this.
The insurance index reduced by 1.13 percent, the consumer goods space followed with a 0.20 percent loss, while the oil/gas sector went down by 0.19 percent, with the industrial goods industry falling by 0.07 percent.
An analysis of the price movement chart showed that Guinness Nigeria was the heaviest loser, depreciating by N2.80 to close at N25.20 per share, while GTBank declined by 95 kobo to settle at N29.90 per unit.
Furthermore, UAC Nigeria fell by 35 kobo to end at N9 per share, Zenith Bank lost 25 kobo to quote at N19.65 per unit, while SAHCO went down by 15 kobo to N2.87 per share.
On the gainers’ chart, Caverton took the highest price appreciation as its shares rose by 24 kobo to N2.74 per unit, while United Capital gained 8 kobo to sell at N2.94 per share, with the trio of Livestock Feeds, University Press and Law Union and Rock Insurance appreciating by 5 kobo to close at 70 kobo per share, N1.25 per share and N1.15 per share respectively.
At the close of business, a total of 19 stocks depreciated in value, while 9 equities appreciated, with five closing flat.
On the activity chart, things went south as the volume of shares transacted by investors reduced by 12.01 percent to 132.6 million units from 150.7 million units, while the value dropped 53.99 percent to N1.3 billion from N2.8 billion, with the number of deals going down by 0.28 percent to 3,189 from 3,198.
The major contributors to the trading volume were Zenith Bank (21.7 million shares worth N429.5 million), UAC Nigeria (21.2 million equities valued at N208.5 million), United Capital (20.6 million stocks worth N60.3 million), UBA (13.9 million shares valued at N108.1 million) and FBN Holdings (7.6 million equities worth N45.1 million).
Outlook
We expect investors to take advantage of the low prices of stocks at the market and expand their portfolios next week, leading to a likely positive start at the first trading session.
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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