Economy

Traders Stake N19.9bn on 2.4 billion Shares in 4 Days

Published

6 years ago

13/04/2020

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Last week, the stock market in Nigeria operated for four days as a result of the public holiday declared by federal government to mark the Easter celebrations.

The market was shut down on Friday for Good Friday and this will continue today for Easter Monday. Activities are expected to resume tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14, 2020.

But during the four-day trading sessions of last week, more equities were transacted at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

This was due to the bargain hunting witnessed most part of the week, which led to the All-Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation appreciating by 1.37 percent apiece to 21,384.03 and N11.144 trillion respectively.

All other indices finished higher with the exception of the energy index, industrial goods index and Lotus II, which fell by 4.76 percent, 6.59 percent and 2.65 percent respectively, while the ASeM index closed flat.

During the week, 2.4 billion shares worth N19.9 billion were traded in 18,918 deals compared with 1.5 billion equities valued at N11.3 billion transacted the previous week in 18,928 deals.

An analysis showed that financial stocks led the activity chart with 2.2 billion units worth N11.1 billion exchanged in 11,322 deals, contributing 89.42 percent and 55.72 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

In addition, a total of 102.8 billion industrial goods shares worth N3.6 billion were traded in the week in 2,483 deals, while 51.1 million units of consumer goods stocks valued at N3.6 billion were transacted in 1,924 deals.

A further breakdown indicated that Omoluabi Mortgage Bank, GTBank and FBN Holdings were the most active stocks by volume last week, accounting for 1.7 billion units worth N8.0 billion in 4,443deals. These three equities contributed 69.76 percent and 40.30 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Data obtained by Business Post from the NSE showed that 35 equities appreciated in price during the week, higher than 15 equities in the previous week, while 18 equities depreciated in price, lower than 36 equities in the previous week, with 110 equities closing flat, lower than 112 equities recorded in the preceding week.

Lafarge Africa was the best performing stock, rising by 41.34 percent to close at N12.65 per share. Wema Bank gained 24.53 percent to close at 59 kobo per share, UBA appreciated by 25.25 percent to finish at N6.20 per share, Sterling Bank rose by 25.23 percent to close at N1.39 percent, while Fidelity Bank gained 24.26 percent to settle at N2.10 per share.

On the flip side, Ardova ended the week as the worst performing stock, going down by 18.48 percent to close at N11.25 per share. SAHCO fell by 15.61 percent to close at N2.00 per share, BUA Cement declined by 12.75 percent to finish at N30.80 per share, Learn Africa lost 10.00 percent to finish at 90 kobo per share, while Cutix dropped 10.00 percent to close at N1.26 per share.

Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

Published

1 hour ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.

The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.

Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.

Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.

The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.

By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

Published

2 hours ago

24/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.

The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.

Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.

Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.

At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.

VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.

In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.

Economy

Naira Firms up to N1,449 Per Dollar at Official Market

Published

2 hours ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira rallied against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 23 by N6.57 or 0.45 per cent to N1,449.99/$1 from the previous day’s N1,456.56/$1.

The domestic currency also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N1.30 to sell for N1,956.03/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,957.33/£1 and gained N2.94 on the Euro to close at N1,707.65/€1, in contrast to the previous session’s closing price of N1,710.59/€1.

In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar by N5 at the GTBank FX counter to sell for N1,465/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,470/$1 but remained unchanged at N1,485/$1 in the black market window.

Sentiment in the FX market continued to improve with market operators attributing the appreciation to increased supply in the official market, supported by sustained interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the impact of recent reforms.

Improved liquidity from exporters and foreign portfolio investors has also contributed to easing pressure on the local currency, helping to stabilise trading conditions during the festivities.

Analysts noted that the Naira’s performance has helped narrow the spread between the official and parallel market rates, a development seen as supportive of investor confidence and business planning. This relative stability has reduced short-term volatility risks and encouraged more orderly price discovery in the FX market.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was down yesterday as analysts suggest tax-loss harvesting and low liquidity are contributing to the action in crypto as the year ends. That means investors selling their underwater positions to realize losses, lowering their tax liabilities.

Some analysts remain cautiously optimistic about a potential rally, though significant recovery is not expected until liquidity returns in January.

Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled by 3.1 per cent to $0.1281, Solana (SOL) slumped by 2.9 per cent to $121.92, Cardano (ADA) fell by 2.7 per cent to $0.3582, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 2.2 per cent to $2,926.25, and Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 2.1 per cent to $1.85.

Further, Binance Coin (BNB) lost 2.0 per cent to sell for $838.21, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 1.4 per cent to $86,933.97, and Litecoin (LTC) went down by 0.2 per cent to $76.33, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded at $1.00 apiece.