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UBA, FBN Holdings, Access Holdings Lead Activity Chart in One Week

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NGX Activity Chart

By Dipo Olowookere

The trio of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and Access Holdings Plc dominated the activity chart at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week, accounting for 564.882 million shares worth N16.990 billion in 8,493 deals, contributing 32.56 per cent and 34.85 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively, last week.

In the week, investors bought and sold 1.735 billion shares worth N48.755 billion in 45,237 deals versus the 1.773 billion shares valued at N52.867 billion transacted a week earlier in 44,713 deals.

Business Post reports that the financial services industry was the busiest in the five-day trading week with 1.273 billion shares valued at N31.077 billion in 23,066 deals, contributing 73.36 per cent and 63.74 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.

It was trailed by the conglomerates counter with 123.237 million shares worth N1.772 billion in 3,205 deals, and the consumer goods sector with 104.854 million shares worth N5.292 billion in 6,166 deals.

A total of 50 equities appreciated last week compared with 55 equities in the previous week, 32 equities depreciated versus 24 equities in the preceding week, and 72 equities remained unchanged, in contrast to 75 equities a week earlier.

Juli ended the week as the best-performing stock after it jumped by 46.10 per cent to N7.86, NEM Insurance rose by 45.11 per cent to N9.65, International Energy Insurance appreciated by 22.95 per cent to N1.50, Jaiz Bank grew by 20.40 per cent to N2.42, and Thomas Wyatt advanced by 19.78 per cent to N2.18.

Conversely, Julius Berger was the worst-performing equity after it dropped 17.15 per cent to trade at N60.15, DAAR Communications depleted by 14.10 per cent to 67 Kobo, UPDC REIT went down by 12.73 per cent to N4.80, Deap Capital shrank by 12.50 per cent to 63 Kobo, and MTN Nigeria declined by 12.25 per cent to N235.00.

When trading activities ended last Friday at the bourse, the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation depreciated by 0.42 per cent to 104,647.37 points and N59.169 trillion, respectively.

Similarly, all other indices finished lower except the NGX Main Board, NGX CG, banking, pension, insurance, ASeM, AFR Bank Value, MERI Growth, energy, and industrial goods indices, which gained 0.68 per cent, 0.43 per cent, 4.19 per cent, 0.13 per cent, 8.92 per cent, 21.81 per cent, 3.93 per cent, 4.13 per cent, 0.30 per cent, and 0.57 per cent, respectively, while the sovereign bond index closed flat.

Economy

Nigeria Must Prioritize Cash Transfers to Vulnerable Households—IMF

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Direct Cash Transfers

By Dipo Olowookere

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised the Nigerian government to give priority to supporting vulnerable households in the country suffering the impact of its economic reforms, Business Post reports.

The administration of President Bola Tinubu since assuming power on May 29, 2023, has introduced reforms that have put some citizens into untold hardship.

While delivering his inaugural speech almost two years ago, Mr Tinubu announced an end to the payment of subsidies on premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol.

His announcement pushed the price of the product from less than N200 per litre to almost N600 per litre.

PMS later reached over N1,000 per litre but the price war between Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has made it to be at N860 per litre at the moment, though there are speculations that it could move higher to over N900 per litre in the coming weeks due to the suspension of the Naira-for-crude deals with local refiners, including the Lagos-based Dangote Refinery.

Another reform introduced by President Tinubu is the liberalisation of the foreign exchange (FX) market, devaluing the value of the local currency to over N1,500 per Dollar at the moment. It was almost reaching N2,000 per Dollar until the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made some moves, including clearing forex backlogs and putting in place an transparent system for trading called the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS).

At the IMF Press Briefing on Thursday, the Director of Communications Department of the IMF, Ms Julie Kozack, said to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians, the federal government must quickly rollout cash transfers.

“The authorities’ policies to stabilize the economy and to promote growth are welcome, and they will, of course, need to be accompanied by targeted social transfers to support the most vulnerable populations.

“We do recognize the extremely difficult situation that many Nigerians face. And for that reason, I just want to emphasize that completing the rollout of cash transfers to vulnerable households is an important priority for Nigeria, as is improving revenue mobilization domestically,” she said.

Ms Kozack disclosed that a team from the IMF would “travel to Nigeria next week in preparation for the 2025 Article IV Consultation.”

She said earlier this month, the Deputy Managing Director of the global lender, Ms Gita Gopinath, was in Abuja and Lagos, where she met with the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, and the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, as well as civil society groups and private sector leaders.

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Economy

Profit-taking in Banking, Energy Sectors Cracks NGX Index by 0.06%

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profit-taking at NSE

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited sank deeper by 0.06 per cent on Thursday on the back of sustained profit-taking, particularly in the banking, energy and consumer goods sectors.

Business Post reports that the N4 per share dividend declared by Zenith Bank for the 2024 fiscal year yesterday could not trigger bargain-hunting as investor sentiment was weak.

It was observed that 22 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart and 28 stocks finished on the losers’ table, representing a negative market breadth index.

John Holt lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N7.74, Chams declined by 8.52 per cent to N2.04, Secure Electronic Technology shed 8.47 per cent to close at 54 Kobo, May and Baker slipped by 7.95 per cent to N8.10, and UPDC stumbled by 6.90 per cent to N2.70.

However, The Initiates gained 9.85 per cent to settle at N4.46, Mutual Benefits grew by 9.09 per cent to 96 Kobo, Universal Insurance climbed higher by 9.09 per cent to 60 Kobo, Royal Exchange rose by 8.99 per cent to 97 Kobo, and Learn Africa increased by 8.14 per cent to N3.32.

The insurance index was up during the session by 0.09 per cent, and the industrial goods counter marginally closed higher by 0.01 per cent, while the commodity sector was flat.

But, the banking space went down by 0.96 per cent, the energy industry depreciated by 0.35 per cent, and the consumer goods sector declined by 0.20 per cent.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 59.87 points to 105,426.12 points from 105,485.99 points, and the market capitalisation depleted by N38 billion to N66.110 trillion from N66.148 trillion.

A total of 423.6 million shares worth N9.2 billion were transacted in 11,393 deals on Thursday versus the 5.8 billion shares valued at N342.6 billion bought and sold in 10,908 deals on Wednesday, showing a rise in the number of deals by 4.45 per cent, and a fall in the trading volume and value by 92.65 per cent, and 97.32 per cent apiece.

The activity log was topped by Access Holdings with 65.0 million equities for N1.4 billion, Zenith Bank sold 41.5 million stocks for N2.0 billion, Fidelity Bank transacted 40.7 million shares worth N773.2 million, Secure Electronic Technology traded 38.4 million stocks valued at N20.8 million, and Tantalizers exchanged 31.5 million equities worth N89.9 million.

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Economy

Nigeria Customs Introduces Indigenous Trade Processing System

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B-Odogwu customs

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has launched a locally developed portal to enhance trade transparency, efficiency, and compliance.

The portal, called B-Odogwu, will provide a unified system for stakeholders, including shippers, terminal operators, and traders, to access and manage their information system.

According to a statement, the Comptroller Kano/Jigawa Command, Dalhat Abubakar, unveiled the program in Kano on Tuesday and described it as a safer, faster, and indigenous-owned system designed by the NCS for easy transactions.

He said the introduction of the B-Odogwu system was a significant step towards achieving a single National entry window and promoting transparency in trade facilitation.

According to him, “The new system is designed to ensure reliability, transparency, and compliance in trade facilitation.”

Mr Abubakar, however, stressed that the NCS has demonstrated competence and dedication in transitioning from service providers to the new system.

He added that the key features and benefits of the B-Odogwu system include faster processing and reduced downtime, enhanced reliability, and transparency.

Other benefits are improved compliance and reduced lack of compliance, a single national entry window with a single data movement, and trade facilitation and transparency.

He disclosed that “The NCS has commenced training for terminal operators, shippers, traders, and licensed agents to ensure a smooth transition to the new system.”

He further stated that “Over 16,000 declarations have been made on the B-Odogwu system since its introduction in January 2025.”

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