Economy

Nigerian Stock Market Loses N416b in One Week amid Political Anxiety

Published

8 years ago

27/05/2018

By Dipo Olowookere

The heating up of the political terrain in the country is gradually having a negative effect on the Nigerian stock market, Business Post reports.

During the just-concluded trading week, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) lost about N416 billion as a result of huge selling pressure at the market.

Analysts had predicted that trading during the week would be positive as a result of improving macroeconomic indices in the domestic space, especially with the further ease in the inflation rate, positive GDP growth, passage of the 2018 budget and retention of the interest at 14 percent by the apex bank.

However, these did nothing to drive the equity market up last week as the stock market did not record any single rise throughout last week.

This was attributed to profit-taking activities by investors, especially foreign investors, who are parts of the major drivers of the local bourse. It was observed that foreign investors are reassessing their portfolio compositions so as to limit their losses as a result of political intrigues in the country ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Business Post reports that at the close of transactions last week, the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 2.84 percent to settle at 39,323.62 points, while the market capitalization decreased by N416 billion to finish at N14.244 trillion against its previous close of N14.660 trillion.

During the week also, a total of 14 equities appreciated in price, lower than 20 in the previous week, while 61 stocks depreciated in price, higher than 54 equities of the previous week, and 94 counters remained unchanged, lower than 95 recorded in the preceding week.

A total turnover of 1.372 billion shares worth N16.022 billion in 21,099 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of the exchange in contrast to a total of 1.457 billion shares valued at N23.666 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 19,674 deals.

It was further observed that the Financial Services Industry, measured by volume, led the activity chart with 1.010 billion shares valued at N8.670 billion traded in 12,049 deals; thus contributing 73.62 percent and 54.11 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Services Industry followed with 107.246 million shares worth N229.715 million in 712 deals, while the third place was occupied by Consumer Goods Industry with a turnover of 71.946 million shares worth N5.506 billion in 3,818 deals.

Trading in the top three equities; Zenith Bank, African Alliance Insurance Company and Ikeja Hotel, measured by volume, accounted for 276.876 million shares worth N2.939 billion in 2,112 deals, contributing 20.18 percent and 18.35 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The top gainer for the week was Ikeja Hotels, which rose by 44.94 percent to settle at N2.58k per share.

It was followed by MRS Oil Nigeria, which appreciated by 21.18 percent to finish at N36.05k per share, and Law Union and Rock Insurance, which increased by 20.99 percent to close at 98k per share.

Niger Insurance grew by 19.05 percent to end at 25k per share, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance increased by 11.11 percent to finish at 30k per share.

On the flip side, Eterna closed the week as the worst performing stock after shedding 22.27 percent of its value to close at N5.27k per share.

It was trailed by Japaul Oil, which went down by 20 percent to end at 24k per share, and Dangote Flour, which decreased by 16.82 percent to close at N8.90k per share.

Transcorp declined by 16.35 percent to close at N1.33k per share, while AIICO Insurance fell by 16.18 percent to end at 57k per share.

Also traded during the week were a total of 70 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N1,943.00 executed in 7 deals, compared with a total of 153,246 units valued at N4.009 million that was transacted in the preceding week in 22 deals.

In addition, a total of 10,754 units of Federal Government bonds valued at N11.412 million were traded during the week in 5 deals, compared with a total of 7,508 units valued at N7.506 million transacted in the previous week in 12 deals.

Economy

MRS Oil, FrieslandCampina Wamco Shrink NASD Index by 0.68%

Published

2 days ago

06/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.

MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.

As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.

The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.

Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.

When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.

Economy

NGX Index Rebounds 0.15% on Renewed Interest in Financial Stocks

Published

2 days ago

06/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.

Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.

This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.

The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.

On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.

Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.

Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.

At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.

Economy

Naira Depreciates to N1,362/$1 at Official Market

Published

2 days ago

06/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.

However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.

For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.

The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.

Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.

As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.

Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.

Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.