Economy
Stock Market Value up by N210b as Investors’ Confidence Returns
By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on a positive note for the third straight session on Wednesday.
This occurred as investors’ confidence on the Nigerian market gradually returns despite political drama in the country, especially with an impeachment threat given on Tuesday by the parliament to President Muhammadu Buhari over affairs of the nation.
At the close of midweek trade, the equity market improved by 1.53 percent, while the Year-to-Date (YtD) returns ended at 0.50 percent, going back into the positive zone after it slipped into the danger territory last week.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 580.37 points to settle 38,435.29 points, while the market capitalisation, which measures the value of quoted stocks on the NSE, appreciated by N210.2 billion to close at N13.922 trillion.
A look as the sector performance showed that they all ended in the positive region. The NSEIND, NSEOILG5, NSEBNK10, NSEINS10, and NSEFBT10 appreciated by 4.16 percent, 0.63 percent, 1.15 percent, 0.99 percent and 2.51 percent respectively.
Investors’ mood as reflected by the market breadth finished positive with 44 price gainers and 16 price losers.
Nigerian Breweries topped the gainers’ chart with N5.50k added to its share value to settle at N116.80k per share.
It was followed by Guinness Nigeria, which went up by N4.75k to finish at N99.75k per share, and Lafarge, which improved by N3.25k to end at N38 per share.
Dangote Cement increased by N2 to close at N230 per share, while Flour Mills went up by N1.80k to finish at N32.95k per share.
On the flip side, it was a bad day for Okomu Oil as the stock depreciated by N2 to settle at N82 per share.
CCNN lost 95 kobo to close at N28 per share, while May and Baker declined by 11 kobo to finish at N2.54k per share.
GTBank went down by 10 kobo to settle at N41.90k per share, while NPF Microfinance Bank fell by 8 kobo to end at N1.61k per share.
Business Post reports that the volume and value of equities transacted by investors increased by 15.73 percent and 11.91 percent respectively.
A total of 393.1 million shares were exchanged at the market yesterday in 5,285 deals valued at N6.7 billion compared with the 339.7 million equities sold in the previous session worth N6 billion executed in 4,436 deals.
The Financial Services sector led the activity chart on Wednesday with 311.6 million shares traded at N4.4 billion. This was followed by the Consumer Goods industry, which exchanged 28.2 million equities for N563 million.
Zenith Bank emerged the most traded stock at the market with 110.6 million units sold for N3.1 billion.
It was followed by Fidelity Bank, which traded 63.9 million shares valued at N148.4 million, and UBA, which exchanged 22.5 million equities worth N255.3 million.
Access Bank transacted 20.3 million shares for N220.3 million, while Diamond Bank sold 17.5 million equities for N27.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Geo-Fluids Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.12 per cent on Monday, March 16.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.45 during the session to sell at N123.55 per share versus the previous price of N125.00 per share, and Geo Fluids Plc depreciated by 5 Kobo to N3.05 per unit from N3.10 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities lowered the market capitalisation by N8.88 billion to N2.480 trillion from N2.489 trillion, and crashed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 14.86 points to 4,145.60 points from 4,160.46 points.
On the first trading day of the week, the value of securities transacted by investors went up by 10.8 per cent to N33.2 million from N29.9 million, but the volume of securities dipped 97.5 per cent to 265,610 units from 10.4 million units, and the number of deals decreased by 43.5 per cent to 26 deals from 46 deals.
At the close of trades, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 38.6 million units sold for N2.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.4 million units traded for N1.2 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 6.5 million units worth N609.6 million.
Resourcery Plc closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.6 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 130.8 million units transacted for N504.5 million, and CSCS Plc with 38.6 million units exchanged for N2.4 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week stronger against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, March 16, by N8.46 or 0.62 per cent to trade at N1,357.77/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366.23/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N23.45 to quote at N1,789.54/£1 compared with last Friday’s value of N1,812.99/£1, and improved its value against the Euro by N9.72 to N1,558.31/€1 from N1,568.03/€1.
Similarly, the Naira gained N5 against the greenback in the parallel market during the trading session to sell for N1,395/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,400/$1, and closed flat at the GTBank FX desk at N1,385/$1.
The pressure that piled on the domestic currency appeared to have eased, buoyed by higher oil prices, which have continued to bolster market sentiment.
A report by Coronation Merchant Bank Research said Brent crude prices advanced by 11.16 per cent week-on-week, rising from $91.00 per barrel to close at $101.16 per barrel amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The bank noted that developments in the region heightened concerns about potential disruptions to global oil supply, increasing volatility in energy markets.
Nigeria recorded modest portfolio inflows as investors sought higher-yielding opportunities, but the inflows helped support liquidity in the FX market and contributed to the Naira’s recovery during the past week.
Also, Nigeria’s inflation cooled to 15.06 per cent in February 2026 from 15.10 per cent in January 2026, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices continued to weigh the tensions around the Strait of Hormuz — a critical oil shipping route between the Persian Gulf and global markets — appeared to ease slightly.
US President Donald Trump called on other nations to help secure the waterway, while some tankers reportedly have crossed the Strait, suggesting that traffic through the corridor has not been fully disrupted.
This weakened some coins, including Dogecoin (DOGE), which slumped by 1.7 per cent to $0.0998, and Cardano (ADA), which depreciated 1.6 per cent to $0.2832. Binance Coin (BNB) lost 1.5 per cent to sell for $674.25, TRON (TRX) declined by 0.6 per cent to $0.2964, and Solana (SOL) dropped 0.2 per cent to $93.66.
On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) jumped 2.2 per cent to $1.51, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 1.5 per cent to $2,302.08, and Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 0.1 per cent to $73,951.40, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited reached an all-time high of 201,474.89 points on Monday after adding 3,067.59 points or 1.55 per cent to its previous closing figures of 198,407.30 points.
Buying pressure in three of the five key sectors sustained the upward trend on Customs Street during the trading session, analysis of the market data revealed.
The industrial goods sector appreciated by 4.52 per cent, the banking index improved by 2.20 per cent, and the consumer goods space rose by 0.03 per cent.
However, the insurance sector experienced profit-taking, which crashed it by 0.43 per cent, and the energy counter lost 0.08 per cent due to sell-offs.
When the bourse ended for the day, the market capitalisation chalked up N1.969 trillion to settle at N129.330 trillion compared with last Friday’s M127.361 trillion.
BUA Cement led the advancers’ group yesterday after growing by 10.00 per cent to N297.00, Premier Paints jumped 9.79 per cent to N21.30, John Holt expanded by 9.52 per cent to N10.35, Guinea Insurance soared by 9.38 per cent to N1.40, and Fortis Global Insurance grew by 9.32 per cent to N1.29.
On the flip side, VFD Group led the laggards’ gang after it gave up 10.00 per cent to close at N11.25, Royal Exchange shed 9.63 per cent to settle at N1.69, Omatek depreciated by 9.62 per cent to N2.35, Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 9.00 per cent to quote at N1.92, and Regency Alliance slipped by 8.94 per cent to N1.12.
Yesterday, a total of 948.2 million stocks valued at N49.2 billion were traded in 72,735 deals compared with 591.0 million stocks worth N35.0 billion transacted in 53,066 deals in the preceding session, representing an improvement in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 60.44 per cent, 40.57 per cent, and 37.07 per cent apiece.
The activity log was led by Sovereign Trust Insurance, which traded 72.6 million equities valued at N147.1 million, Access Holdings sold 69.9 million shares for N1.8 billion, First Holdco exchanged 67.0 million stocks worth N3.4 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 60.0 million equities valued at N6.0 billion, and Nigerian Breweries exchanged 55.0 million shares worth N4.0 billion.
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