Author: Julius Alagbe

Investors Take Profit in Nigerian Bonds, Rates Cut Stokes Sell-Off The average yield on Nigerian government bonds rose in reaction to sell pressures seen across the belly and long-tenor papers at the secondary market. Investors’ interest in the local borrowing papers was subdued as the market anticipates returns to continue to thin out after the Debt Office cuts spot rate on reopening bonds at the primary market auction. MarketForces Africa reported that the authority reduced spot rate on 5-Year reopened local papers to 15.832% from 16% for Sept auction. Also, Debt Office reduced spot rate on 7-year bonds to 15.85%,…

Nigerian Treasury Bills Yield Steady at 17.39%, Trade Softens The Nigerian Treasury bills secondary market continued its bullish momentum in today’s session, with the average yield dipping by a basis point to 17.39% on Wednesday from 17.40% yesterday. The return on the short term borrowing instrument continues to trail Nigeria’s headline inflation rate. Buying interest was broad-based across the curve, as most maturities declined by 1bp, except for the JUN-26 paper, which saw mild sell pressure, pushing its yield up by 12bps, Meristem Securities Limited said in a note. A transaction across short, belly and long end of the curve…

Nigeria Targets $74 bn GDP Boost from Livestock Sector The Federal Government of Nigeria says the 2025–2035 National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy (NL-GAS) is expected to increase the livestock sector’s contribution to GDP from 32 billion to 74 billion dollars. The Minister of Livestock Development, Dr Idi Maiha, gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja at the Donor and Partnership Workshop on Livestock Development in Nigeria. Maiha said the NL-GAS was a comprehensive, market-oriented, private sector-led, and public sector-enabled roadmap designed to accelerate growth in the livestock industry. The workshop, themed “Strengthening Strategic Partnership for Livestock Transformation,” brought together development…

Nvidia’s $5 trillion Climb Exposes AI Boom’s Reality Gap Nvidia’s market value closing in on $5 trillion has become the defining symbol of artificial intelligence’s rise — and, according to Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, a striking reminder that markets are racing far ahead of the profit reality. “AI is transforming the global economy and remains the single most powerful force shaping the future,” says Nigel Green. “But valuations are expanding faster than earnings. “The technology is real, the transformation is real, but the profitability still has to prove itself.” He says Nvidia’s march toward a $5 trillion valuation…

Naira Appreciates to N1,444/$ as External Reserves Cross $43bn The Nigerian local currency, the naira, appreciated to N1444 per US dollar at the official window, with data showing additional accretion into the nation’s external reserves. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) daily FX update revealed that the official rate gained additional value against the greenback in the absence of supply pressures. The spot rate closed at N1444.4220 per US dollar on Wednesday from N1448.2050. The official rate touched an intraday high of N1450, up by N6 from the previous position, which suggests demand for dollar continues to track FX supply…

22 Ships Currently Discharging Petrol at Lagos Ports – NPA The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Wednesday said that 22 ships are currently discharging petroleum products and food items at Apapa, Tincan and Lekki Ports. The NPA made this known in its publication, “Shipping Position”, a copy of which was made available in Lagos. It listed the contents of the ships as including frozen fish, petrol, general cargo, containers, bulk sugar, buckwheat, ethanol, bulk urea, gasoline, bulk gas and bulk wheat. “Six other ships have arrived at the ports and are waiting to berth with bulk wheat and cargo. “We…

Equities Investors Lose N693bn on WeaK Q3 Earnings Euphoria With all the indices closed negative, equity investors lost more than N693 billion on Wednesday as the third quarter of 2025 earnings season’s euphoria fades.  The market has been bleeding for the third consecutive trading session due to downbeat investors’ sentiment on risky assets. The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) all-share index fell by 70 basis points due to selling rallies, driven by overbought stocks and portfolio rebalancing. The negative outing was largely driven by profit-taking activities in previously appreciated medium- and high-cap stocks such as BETAGLAS, ARADEL, GUINNESS, and 43 others. A…

GTCO Profit Falls by 35.5%, Q3 Earnings Disappoint as Costs Spike Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) performance came under pressure in the third quarter of financial year 2025, resulting in a significant reduction in earnings per share. Profit after tax slumped by 35.5% year on year to N699.64 billion, an underwhelming performance compared with N1.085 trillion GTCO posted in the equivalent period in 2025. Investors metric weakened as the Holdco reported a 46.1% year on year decline in earnings per share (EPS) to N20.71 from N38.41 in the equivalent period in 2024. The GTCO Plc.’s’ Q3 disappointing earnings performance…

Euro Climbs to $1.1653 Amidst US Dollar Selling EUR/USD rose for the fifth day, nearing its 1.1660-1.1670 in 100 days as markets experienced heavy dollar selling. Investors dumped the greenback in anticipation of a US Fed rate cut. The euro strengthened for the fourth consecutive session yesterday, the longest advance in a couple of months. The pair gains were extended today to slightly above $1.1665, but it is struggling to sustain the upside momentum. It failed to settle above $1.1655. The dollar is mixed against the G10 currencies, fanned by Japanese official caution about exchange rate developments. After successful trade…

Western Union Moves to Launch Solana-Based Stablecoin The Western Union Company today announced its plan to launch U.S. Dollar Payment Token (USDPT), its new stablecoin, and an innovative Digital Asset Network designed to bridge the digital and fiat worlds, enabling real-world utility for digital assets. Built on Solana and issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, Western Union aims to launch USDPT, expanding the ways to move money for customers, agents and partners, and to support the company’s treasury capabilities. This brings together Western Union’s global digital footprint, Solana’s high-performance blockchain technology, and Anchorage Digital’s industry-leading federally regulated stablecoin issuance platform and…