Economy
Stocks Sustain Free Fall as Pressure Mounts on NSE

By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Market sentiments remained weak on Wednesday as pressure continued to mount on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Stock market analysts believed news of an alleged attempt by the Senate to install the Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, as the Acting President yesterday sent a wrong signal to investors, who held back to observe latest political happenings in the country, especially with the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari in nearly two months now.
Nigerians have continued to react to the development, with many heavily criticising the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly for the alleged attempt, which was quickly foiled by Mr Saraki on Tuesday.
At the resumption of trading activities on the floor of the NSE on Wednesday, the bearish trend was maintained, leaving the market to decline further by 0.33 percent.
The All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated today by 107.88 points to settle at 32,302.32 points, while the market capitalisation depleted by N36.7 billion to finish at N11.13 trillion.
Furthermore, the market breadth still remained negative today with 33 decliners in contrast to 12 advancers.
In addition, the year-to-date return trimmed further to 20.20 percent.
Business Post however reports that the volume and value of shares transacted at the market today finished higher.
A total of 312 million shares exchanged hands on Wednesday in 4,312 deals worth N3 billion, versus 206.2 shares traded yesterday in 4,294 deals valued at N1.7 billion.
Niger Insurance was the most active stock on Wednesday, trading a total of 62.9 million shares valued at N31.5 million.
First Bank followed with a total of 30.5 million units traded at N183.7 million, while Transcorp sold 30.2 million shares worth N38.8 million.
Zenith Bank exchanged a total of 28.5 million shares today valued at N575 million, and UBA transacted 24 million units worth N197.7 million.
On the price movement chart, Flour Mills led the losers’ table after dropping N2.49k to close at N23.14k per share, and was trailed by Unilever, which shed N1.84k to end at N35.3k per share.
Julius Berger lost N1.69k to finish at N32.14k per share, Guinness declined by N1.54k to settle at N63 per share, while PZ Cussons depreciated by N1.21k to close at N23.14k per share.
The gainers’ chart was led today by Nestle, which grew by 50k to finish at N901.50k per share, and was followed by Berger Paints, which advanced by 31k to end at N7.15k per share.
Nigerian Breweries added 30k to its share value on Wednesday to close at N158.35k per share, UBA gained 18k to settle at N8.38k per share, and First Bank increased by 14k to wrap the day at N6.5k per share.
Economy
Xenergi in Talks to Acquire 51% Stake in Premier Paints
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
Economy
Naira Trades Flat Across FX Market Windows as CBN Moves to Ease Pressure
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
Economy
Stock Investors’ Portfolios Swell N14bn as Index Rises 0.01%
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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