Economy

We Won’t Tolerate Infractions from Stockbrokers—SEC

Published

7 years ago

23/07/2019

By Dipo Olowookere

Acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, has warned newly qualified authorised dealing clerks of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to abide by the highest principled standard expected in their profession.

On Monday, July 15, 2019, a total of 46 new stockbrokers were inducted after going through rigorous trainings at the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Ms Uduk, while addressing the new stockbrokers at their induction ceremony in Lagos recently, said they must always maintain the integrity of their profession and imbibe culture of compliance to rules and regulations and transparency as they carry out their activities in the market.

According to her, SEC does not tolerate infractions as steps are being taken to ensure that regulatory oversight was more effective, investor protection advanced, and systemic risk mitigated.

Head of Corporate Communications at SEC, Efe Ebelo, said in a statement that Mrs Uduk tasked the new stockbroking professionals to be “determined to bring positive changes into the market as you launch your careers and challenge the status quo in the areas of capacity building and innovativeness, while bringing fresh and innovative ideas into product development, as well as efficiency in service delivery to the investors.”

“We at the SEC are conscious of our dual mandates of regulating and developing the Nigerian capital market for the continued and consistent growth of the Nigerian economy, which is why we have been pushing the initiatives that include the E-dividend Management Mandate System, Direct Cash Settlement and Multiple Application Regularisation Initiatives, so as to properly educate your clients and increase the level of awareness in our market.”

Represented at the event by the Director of Lagos Zonal Office at SEC, Mr Stephen Falomo, the acting DG told the inductees that, “This ceremony marks the final point at which the inductees become full-fledged dealing members of the NSE, a position of great trust; because now you will be handling investments for individual and corporate investors and this you must do with utmost care and highest standards of integrity and ethical practice to forestall any breach of trust.”

She said the use of ICT has been fully integrated into financial services and as such financial technology (Fintech) and regulatory technology (Regtech) are trending, having been embraced by both the operators and the investors as ways to further enhance the growth and expansion of business in addition to regulatory and compliance issues, urging the newly inducted members to ensure that they all get grounded on the relevant technological advancement necessary to ensure that they can cope with the pace in today’s market, while staying ahead of perpetrators of cyber-crimes, who may attempt to compromise the market.

Ms Uduk acknowledged the roles of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and the NSE for their “unyielding commitment to ensuring the continued growth of the market by producing young, dynamic and professional stockbrokers, who are admitted as authorized dealing clerks.”

She expressed the hope that NSE and CIS would keep on innovating for the benefit of the market and investors alike, as a means of deepening the capital market and positioning it as a catalyst for economic growth and development of the country, saying “as you all know, continuous capacity building in our financial market is a very important part of the capital market development.”

Economy

NGX Index Crosses 170,000 Points as Investors Sustains Buying Pressure

Published

5 minutes ago

06/02/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited recorded another milestone after it further closed higher by 1.18 per cent on Thursday amid renewed confidence in the market.

The All-Share Index (ASI) crossed the 170,000-point threshold during the session as it added 1,975.18 points to the preceding day’s 168,030.18 points to settle at 170,005.36 points.

Also yesterday, the market capitalisation of Customs Street was up by 1,268 trillion to N109.129 trillion from the N107.861 it ended a day earlier.

The growth recorded during the session was powered 55 equities, which outweighed the losses recorded by 19 other equities.

Guinea Insurance expanded by 10.00 per cent to N1.43, Seplat Energy grew by 10.00 per cent to N7,370.00, RT Briscoe increased by 9.95 per cent to N11.49, Neimeth chalked up 9.90 per cent to close at N11.10, and Zichis rose by 9.89 per cent to N6.11.

At the other side, Deap Capital lost 9.62 per cent to trade at N6.20, Universal Insurance slipped by 9.43 per cent to N1.44, Haldane McCall declined by 9.09 per cent to N4.00, Red Star Express went down by 9.04 per cent to N15.60, and UPDC depreciated by 7.02 per cent to N5.30.

Business Post reports that the energy index was up by 4.68 per cent, the industrial goods improved by 0.79 per cent, the banking space grew by 0.64 per cent, and the consumer goods sector soared by 0.11 per cent, while the insurance counter lost 0.31 per cent.

Yesterday, market participants traded 713.0 million stocks valued at N22.3 billion in 46,104 deals versus the 694.8 million stocks worth N20.6 billion transacted in 42,095 deals on Wednesday, showing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 2.62 per cent, 8.25 per cent, and 9.52 per cent, respectively.

Access Holdings sold 106.6 million shares valued at N2.5 billion, Chams transacted 44.5 million equities worth N201.3 million, Champion Breweries traded 44.5 million stocks for N774.3 million, Universal Insurance exchanged 34.8 million shares worth N53.6 million, and Deap Capital sold 22.7 million equities valued at N141.9 million.

Economy

Naira Depreciates to N1,366 Per Dollar at Official Market

Published

3 hours ago

06/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira weakened against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, February 5, by N7.78 or 0.57 per cent to N1,366.06/$1 from the N1,358.28/$1 it was traded on Wednesday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The Nigerian currency also depreciated against the Euro in the same market segment yesterday by N5.92 to close at N1,611.95/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,606.03/€1, but appreciated further against the Pound Sterling by N8.05 to N1,855.38/£1 from the previous day’s value of N1,863.43/£1.

The domestic currency’s exchange rate for international transactions on the GTBank Naira card was further strengthened after an N8 price appreciation on the greenback to settle at N1,375/$1 compared with the N1,383/$1 it was exchanged at midweek, and at the black market, it maintained stability at N1,450/$1.

The loss suffered by the Nigerian Naira in the official market appears to be an isolated event, as Nigeria’s gross external reserves rose to $46.80 billion as of February 4, 2026, from $46.70 billion a day earlier, underscoring improved capacity to meet foreign obligations and support market confidence.

The local currency has been able to find a solid path despite no indications of any intervention from the apex bank in recent week strengthening the case of price discovery.

As for the digital currency market, Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled more than 13 per cent over the past 24 hours, selling at $63,075.23, its steepest one-day decline since the FTX-driven crash in November 2022.

The sell-off extended beyond crypto, with silver plunging 15 per cent and gold sliding more than 2 per cent. US stocks also fell.

The latest downturn comes as investor confidence in crypto’s utility as a store of value, inflation hedge, and digital currency falters.

Ripple (XRP) plunged by 23.4 per cent to $1.15, Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 14.2 per cent to $0.0879, Cardano (ADA) declined by 13.4 per cent to $0.2459, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 13.2 per cent to $606.83, Solana (SOL) dipped by 13.1 per cent to $78.70, Ethereum (ETH) crashed by 13.0 per cent to $1,841.67, and Litecoin (LTC) lost 13.1 per cent to trade at $50.70, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were at $1.00 each.

Economy

Crude Oil Dips as Iran-US Talks in Oman Ease Pressure

Published

3 hours ago

06/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Crude oil was down by almost 3 per cent on Thursday in choppy trading, after the US and Iran agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday.

Brent crude futures depleted by $1.91 or 2.75 per cent to trade at $67.55 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slumped by $1.85 or 2.84 per cent to $63.29 per barrel.

The US and Iran are set to hold nuclear talks in Oman today after President Donald Trump warned the country’s supreme leader should be “very worried.”

The high-stakes talks are scheduled to take place on Friday in the Omani capital, Muscat, and will involve Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Trump’s special envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff.

Tensions between the two countries have escalated sharply in recent weeks following a deadly crackdown by Iranian security forces on nationwide anti-government protesters. The crackdown prompted Trump to send a US military “armada” to the region and threaten to launch strikes.

Now, market analysts noted that the talks are being given the benefit of the doubt, but noted scepticism that any reasonable deal could be made with Iran.

The discussions come as the US builds up forces in the Middle East, and regional players seek to avoid a military confrontation that many fear could escalate into a wider war and impact the Strait of Hormuz.

About a fifth of the world’s total oil consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran. Other OPEC members, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq, export most of their crude via the strait, as does Iran.

Strength in the US Dollar and volatility in precious metals also weighed on commodities and risk sentiment more broadly on Thursday. The greenback getting stronger makes oil expensive for holders of other currencies.

On the supply side, discounts on Russian oil exports to China widened to new records this week as sellers cut prices to attract demand from the world’s top crude importer and offset the likely loss of Indian sales. This week, a trade deal was announced between the US and India, which agreed to halt purchases of Russian crude.