Author: Julius Alagbe

ETH, XRP, TRX Boost Crypto Market Cap to $3.06 Trillion Ethereum (ETHUSD), XRP, BNB, SOL, and TRX, among other altcoins, drove momentum in the cryptocurrency market on Saturday, lifting the market value of all digital assets to $3.06 trillion. Trading data from CoinMarketCap.com showed that global crypto market capitalisation increased by 1.16% over the last 24 hours on improved sentiments. The positive price movement seen was driven by altcoin momentum, though some levels of profit-taking activities were observed during early trading hours. Crypto analysts expect momentum to persist as Ethereum’s record network activity and progress toward U.S. crypto legislation boost…

21 Insurance Companies Account for 1% of NGX Capitalisation The insurance index contributed less than 1% to Nigerian Exchange (NGX) equities market capitalisation in 2025, but that market anticipates this development to change in 2026 due to recapitalisation and tax law.  Data released by SAMTL showed that 21 listed insurance companies were worth less than N1 trillion in the local bourse, contributing 0.97% to the NGX capitalisation at the close of the trading session on December 31. Some insurance stocks were, however, among top performers, delivering value to their shareholders. Sovereign Insurance Plc delivered 241.07% year to date gain followed…

NGX Delivers Historic 51.2% Gain in 2025, Highest Since 2020 The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) delivered a historic gain of 51.19% in 2025, the highest surge since 2020, as the local bourse becomes a go-to trading platform to hedge inflation pressure.  This makes NGX the second-best performing market in Africa, marking its highest performance in five years With about N99.38 trillion in equity portfolio value, the Nigerian market delivered significant wealth creation driven by price appreciation and re-rating of large-cap stocks. The market experienced strong gains across the banking, industrial goods, consumer goods, insurance, and energy sectors. This was strengthened by…

GCR Affirms Union Bank of Nigeria Issuer Ratings, Outlook Evolving GCR Ratings has affirmed Union Bank of Nigeria Plc’s (UBN) national scale long and short-term issuer ratings of BBB-(NG) and A3(NG), respectively, with the outlook maintained as evolving. The evolving outlook, according to GCR, reflects the potential changes in UBN’s business and financial profile stemming from the planned consolidation with Titan Trust Bank (TTB), the imminent capital injection and the expected phase-out of the regulatory forbearance, which the bank significantly benefits from. The rating also balances the bank’s weak capitalisation and risk profile against a stable funding structure, adequate liquidity…

Nigeria’s Economic Activity Strengthens in December -CBN The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported a further strengthening of domestic economic activity in December 2025, as the Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) maintained its position above the 50-point expansion threshold. The December 2025 PMI Survey, released by the Bank, puts the Composite Index at 57.6 index points, representing the strongest activity momentum recorded in about five years. According to the report, the sustained improvement reflects continued expansion across major employment-generating sectors. Sectoral PMI readings showed that agriculture remained robust at 58.5 points, industry recorded 57.0 points, while the services sector…

XRP Gains 6% Amidst Japan’s Crypto Tax Cut, Escrowed Funds Ripple, XRPUSD, surged by 6.27% in the last 24 hours, outperforming the broader crypto market as investors sentiment improved following Japan’s crypto tax cut and supply tightening. XRP is hovering around $1.99 with more than a 59% spike in trading volume in the last 24 hours across the crypto market. With $120 billion in XRP market capitalisation on Friday, trading data showed volume climbed by $2.71 billion on the day. On the technical side, XRP defended $1.80 support and broke above $1.90 on Tuesday. Its positive price movement combines technical…

UN General Assembly Approves $3.45bn Regular Budget for 2026 The General Assembly has approved a 3.45 billion dollar regular budget for the United Nations for 2026. The approval followed weeks of intensive negotiations and one of the Organisation’s most important reform initiatives, UN80. The budget, approved by the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday, authorised 3,450,426,300 dollars for the coming year, covering UN’s three core pillars of work. These are peace and security, sustainable development and human rights. The budget largely reflected the Secretary-General’s proposed 15 per cent reduction in financial resources and a nearly 19 per cent cut in staffing.…

CBN Mops Up Liquidity with N1.27trn OMO Bills Sales The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) allotted OMO bills totaling N1.27 trillion to investors, according to details of its open market operation on Tuesday. The CBN decision to offer OMO bills for subscription was to stem rising excess liquidity level in the financial system. The market anticipates N594 billion in OMO bills repayment during the week. With a move to balance money market equation, the Apex Bank floated N600 billion OMO bills for investors’ subscription amidst excess liquidity level in the financial system. With huge appetite for the naira asset, the…

Equities Investors Gain N411bn as NGX Index Surges Equities investors gained N411 billion in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), and the bargain hunting boosted market index significantly. The local bourse closed on a positive note, with the All-Share index (ASI) gained 0.42% to close at 155,034.72 points. Overall, equities markets capitalisation surged by #411.35 billion to #98.84 trillion on Tuesday. The bullish close was buoyed by price upticks in BUAFOODS (+3.88%), BUACEMENT (+2.00%), GTCO (+1.62%), and WEMABANK (+6.28%). Overall, market sentiment was bullish, with market breadth printing at 1.88x, as 45 gainers led by GUINEAINS (+10.00%), JBERGER (+10.00%), and HONYFLOUR (+10.00%)…

Litecoin Slides as Cryptocurrencies Face Sell Pressures Litecoin (LTCUSD) fell 0.6% over 24 hours, underperforming the broader crypto market amid persistent risk-off sentiment. Top cryptocurrencies are bleeding, and this bearish condition has dragged Price data showed that LTC declined to $78.10 as trading volume climbed, leaving the coin’s market value at $6 billion at the press time. Data obtained from CoinMarketCap.com showed Litecoin decline amidst a 40% spike in trading volume to $382 million on Monday amidst a recent privacy-tech upgrade. Over 90% of Litecoin nodes now validate MWEB – MimbleWimble Extension Blocks – enabling optional transaction privacy. Combined with…