Economy

Understanding Terms Used in Stock Market (Part 1)

Published

8 years ago

27/07/2018

By Dipo Olowookere

The last time, I wrote about key things to take note of before investing in the recharge card business especially with the way fraudsters try to lure unsuspecting victims into the business.

Today, I am focusing on the stock market, explaining some terms used in the sector.

The stock or equity market is one aspect of the capital market some people get confused about because of its high volatility.

By high volatility, I mean you can gain a huge amount in one trade and loss everything in the next transaction. It is unlike the fixed income market, another aspect of the capital market, where at the point of investment, you know what you are getting as profit.

Now to the common terms used in the market.

Share/Equity/Stock

These terms are commonly used interchangeably and they mean the same thing. A share is like an indivisible unit of capital showing you are one of the owners of a company.

When a company, owned by more than one person, is established and registered as a business entity, it must indicate its ownership structure, which is represented by the number of shares held by each of the persons. It is by this percentage the owners share any profit or dividend recorded by the firm during a given period of time.

Now, a company in need of cash to expand its operations can approach the stock exchange to sell its shares to the general public through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), also expanding the number of persons owning stakes in the firm.

When this is done, the stock market regulator, which is the stock exchange, allows trading of the shares of such company on its platform.

The value of these stocks at the market are determined by demand and supply as well as information about company, the sector or the country’s economic and political happenings.

If a company is having an internal crisis that found its way to the public domain, it is natural for some people, who bought shares of the firm, to panic and if they foresee that the crisis could be ‘brutal’, they will quickly offload (sell off) their shares, resulting in many sellers, but less buyers. Like in the elementary Economics, when this happens, the price of the commodity falls; vis-à-vis.

Trade

This is mainly the buying and selling of stocks on the floor of the exchange. It is the process of executing a transaction; selling or buying of shares of a company at the stock market at a particular price.

Deal

It is a single transaction carried out by a shareholder or investor during trading in the stocks of a company at the market.

Volume

The volume of shares is the total number of units of equities traded during a given period of time at the stock exchange. As expected, the volume of shares transacted by investors at any given trading session either rises or falls.

Value

This is the worth of an equity trading at the stock market. In stock market reporting, this could mean the total worth of stocks traded at the market for a given period of time.

Market Capitalisation

This is simply the total value of shares of the company selling its shares at the stock market. For example, if a company has a total of 1,000 shares selling at N5 each, its total capitalisation would be 1000xN5, which gives us N5,000.

As at the close of trading on Thursday, the total value of shares trading at the Nigerian Stock Exchange stood at N13.196 trillion.

All-Share Index (ASI)

The ASI is a bit complex, but I will try to break it down to make it understandable. It is mainly a statistics showing the direction or performance of the stock market.

Because during a trading day, some stocks will appreciate in price, while others will depreciate in value, with some remaining unchanged. As a result, there was the need to have an indicator showing a true reflection the market’s performance at the trading session.

So, in January 1984, the NSE put its index at 100 points and as at yesterday, it closed at 36,427.22 points after gaining 80.42 points.

Bear Market

This is when the market records a loss

Bull Market

This is when the market records a gain

Full Bid

This simply occurs when there are prospective buyers at the stock market but no willing sellers. This happens when investors have information that the stock may appreciate in price and there is a rush to own the stock so as make profit after selling it at a higher price.

Full Offer

This is the direct opposite of ‘full bid’. This occurs when there are prospective sellers of a stock but no buyers.

52 Week High

This is simply the highest value a particular stock was sold at in the past 52 weeks (one year).

52 Week Low

This refers to the lowest value a particular stock was sold at in the past 52 weeks (one year).

I will continue this piece in a subsequent post.

However, before then, please feel free to let me know where you require any further clarification.

Economy

Nigerian Equity Market Surpasses N145trn After 1.30% Expansion

Published

2 hours ago

25/04/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian equity market showed no signs of slowing down, as it further appreciated by 1.30 per cent on Friday on the back of sustained buying pressure.

Unlike the preceding sessions, investor sentiment was bullish yesterday after the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended with 43 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index, the first this week.

UPDC gained 10.00 per cent to close at N4.40, Academy Press also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to quote at N7.70, Haldane McCall improved by 9.97 per cent to N3.97, Zichis soared by 9.94 per cent to N15.60, and Wema Bank added 9.84 per cent to settle at N31.25.

Conversely, Meyer lost 9.92 per cent to sell for N16.80, Trans-Nationwide Express also crashed by 9.92 per cent to end at N7.90, C&I Leasing slipped by 8.53 per cent to N5.90, Omatek dipped by 7.34 per cent to N2.02, and eTranzact decreased by 5.28 per cent to N17.05.

When the bourse closed its doors to business, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 2,884.81 points to 225,722.49 points from 222,837.68 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N1.858 trillion to N145.335 trillion from N143.477 trillion.

A look at the activity chart showed that market participants transacted 627.6 million shares worth N44.5 billion in 55,232 deals during the trading day compared with the 667.9 million shares valued at N38.1 billion traded in 53,062 deals a day earlier.

This indicated that the volume of transactions went down by 6.03 per cent, the value of trades went up by 16.80 per cent, and the number of deals jumped by 4.09 per cent.

Access Holdings closed the session as investors’ toast, with a turnover of 75.6 million units worth N2.4 billion. UBA transacted 43.1 million units valued at N2.3 billion, Wema Bank exchanged 41.5 million units for N1.3 billion, Zenith Bank traded 38.4 million units valued at N5.2 billion, and Universal Insurance sold 29.5 million units for N35.9 million.

Economy

Oyedele Eyes Fiscal Discipline, Investor-friendly Environment, Fair Taxation

Published

3 hours ago

25/04/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Mr Taiwo Oyedele has set some goals he intends to achieve as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

While taking over from his predecessor, Mr Wale Edun, on Thursday, the tax expert assured that he has no plans to overturn some of the reforms already put in place by the former occupier of the seat.

In a message on Friday, he emphasised that, “Our immediate task is to consolidate these gains, deepen ongoing reforms, and ensure they translate into tangible benefits for all Nigerians.”

He promised to ensure fiscal discipline by embracing transparent and prudent management of public resources, while also harmonising revenue administration, broadening the tax base, reducing the burden on the vulnerable population, and supporting economic growth.

Mr Oyedele further said his other strategic priorities include creating a predictable and investor-friendly environment anchored on policy coherence, consistency, and clarity; and aligning efforts across all tiers and institutions to maximise policy impact.

He also said efforts would be made to deepen collaboration with the private sector and other key stakeholders for data-driven policy design, co-implementation, and feedback for continuous improvement.

According to him, “Good policy design alone is not enough; success will be defined by execution. We are committed to disciplined implementation, accountability, and measurable results.”

“I look forward to working with colleagues across government, the private sector, and all Nigerians as we move from reform to result, accelerate growth and build a more stable, inclusive, and prosperous economy,” he stated.

Economy

NASD Bourse Edges Up 0.23% as NSI Nears 3,970 Points

Published

21 hours ago

24/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange further appreciated by 0.23 per cent on Thursday, April 23, with the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) adding 8.99 points to close at 3,969.96 points against the previous day’s 3,968 points.

The rise in the share price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc by N2.86 to N69.34 per unit from N66.48 per unit raised the market capitalisation of the NASD bourse by N5.38 billion to N2.380 trillion from N2.375 trillion.

Yesterday, there were two price losers, led by Food Concepts Plc, which lost 29 Kobo to sell at N2.65 per share versus N2.94 per share, while UBN Property Plc dipped by 22 Kobo to N2.03 per unit from N2.25 per unit.

During the session, the volume of securities traded declined by 97.9 per cent to 451,522 units from 21.5 million units on Wednesday, the value of securities depreciated by 52.32 per cent to N23.6 million from N49.5 million, and the number of deals depreciated by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.

At the close of business, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.5 million units exchanged for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.