Author: Julius Alagbe

Large European Bank Earnings to Reduce Slightly for 2025 –Fitch Most of the 20 large European banks in Fitch Ratings’ latest quarterly credit monitor performed well in 1H25. Revenue generation was resilient to declining interest rates, and cost and asset quality pressures were generally contained. Fitch expects profitability to remain robust in 2025, but that metrics will fall to slightly below 2024 levels for most banks. The main driver of this will be smaller net interest margins (NIMs), partially offset by growing lending volumes and strong trading income. NIMs have already begun to decrease and are likely to fall further…

Banking, Insurance Sectors Drive NGX Index Higher by 29bps The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) top sectoral indexes, including banking and insurance sectors, boosted equity portfolio value by 29 basis points on Tuesday as investors began to re-enter positions in companies with growth potential. Positive price appreciation in GTCO and Lafarge Africa with ticker WAPCO supported gains recorded by some lightweight companies with relatively lower market capitalisation. Leading performers included REGALINS, MECURE, ETRANZACT, DAARCOMM, and DEAPCAP, while UNILEVER, FTNCOCOA, ELLAHLAKES, LINKASSURE, and BERGER were among the notable underperformers. Gainers include: WAPCO 6.15%, MANSARD 6.13%, AIICO 4.44%, INTBREW 4.07%, UCAP 3.85%, PZ 2.41%,…

Nigeria’s World Cup Hopes End with 1-1 Draw in South Africa Nigeria’s Super Eagles crashed out of the race for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a 1-1 draw with South Africa on Tuesday. The Group C Matchday 8 fixture was played at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein. Nigeria needed an outright win to stay in contention for a World Cup spot. They had earlier defeated Rwanda 1-0 on Matchday 7 in Uyo, but still sat fourth on the six-team table with 11 points. South Africa led the group with 14 points and were looking to widen the gap. The…

AIICO, PZ Lead Intraday Rally, Nigerian Exchange Index Jumps AIICO Insurance, PZ Cussons are among top gainers during intraday trading session on Nigerian Exchange (NGX). The soft rally is supported by bargain hunting in banking stock with notable influence from UBA and Zenith Bank at the time of writing. The local bourse has been fluctuating as investors continue to rotate positions, but stockbrokers told MarketForces Africa that there are some stocks that are in oversold territory and thus have the potential to rally. During the intraday trading session, Zenith Bank has climbed slightly, with UBA staying in the green, while…

AI Adoption by Nigerian Firms Hits 93% — Zoho Zoho, a global technology company, says 93 per cent of Nigerian companies have adopted artificial intelligence (AI), while 84 per cent strengthened privacy measures. The Country Head of Zoho Nigeria, Mr Kehinde Ogundare, disclosed this during Zoho’s 2025 User Conference, Zoholics Nigeria, held in Lagos on Monday. He said a study conducted by Arion Research for Zoho showed that over half of Nigerian firms had moved from experimenting with AI to applying it organisation-wide. He noted the report also found 94 per cent of companies now had a privacy officer or…

AXA Mansard Targets N13.19bn Profit in Q4, Investors React AXA Mansard Plc has revealed the insurance company is targeting N13.187 billion as profit after tax in the fourth quarter of financial year 2025, according to a regulatory filling submitted to the Nigerian Exchange on Monday. Reacting to the insurer’s earnings projection, equities investors increased their bets via open market transaction on the company shares in the Nigerian Exchange platform. Its share price climbed to N15.82 on Monday as 1.771 million units valued at N28.247 million exchanged ownership in the local bourse. AXA Mansard price appreciation lifted market value of insurance…

CBN Supplied 30.5% of US Dollar Inflow in FX Market The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) accounted for 30.5% of foreign exchange market U.S dollar inflows in the currency market, helping the naira to rally. The Apex Bank presence in the currency market continues to influence exchange rate direction, though investors’ confidence remains solid giving the sustained FX intervention. With the external reserves approaching the fresh high, analysts expressed confidence that the external buffer strengthened the CBN efforts to achieve stable exchange rate. The apex bank sold OMO bills to foreign portfolio investors last week to attract hard currency into…

Euro, Bonds Set for Turbulence as French Political Chaos Unnerves Markets The euro and French government bonds are bracing for renewed turbulence, warns global financial advisory giant deVere Group, as investors weigh the fallout of a political showdown in Paris that could topple Prime Minister François Bayrou’s minority administration. The common currency slipped from a five-week high against the dollar as traders booked profits and cut risk exposure ahead of a knife-edge confidence vote in France. With Bayrou struggling to secure parliamentary backing for his austerity-driven budget, markets are preparing for the prospect of yet another collapse in government and…

Nigerian Treasury Bills Worth N185bn Set to Expire The market anticipates financial system liquidity boost as Nigerian Treasury bills (NTB) worth about N185 billion across 91-day, 182-day and 364-day maturities are set to matured or expired. It is not clear if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) planned to replace or refinance the expired treasury papers at the time of writing – given its auction calendar. Ahead of next treasury bills offer, fixed income market analysts anticipate rates will continue to fluctuate following signal from recent OMO actions. At the midweek auction last week, the CBN cuts spot rate on…

Nigeria Plans to Join 50 AI-Ready Countries Globally The Special Adviser to the President on policy and coordination, Hadiza Usman, says Nigeria is committed to becoming one of the global leaders in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Usman stated this at the Colloquium on AI Policy in Nigeria, with the theme “Navigating Opportunities and Challenges For National Development” in Abuja on Thursday. According to him, Nigeria is aiming to be amongst the top-50 AI ready countries. Usman, who was represented by Dr Khalifa Nuhu, Head of the Central Results Delivery and Coordination Unit, said there was need for leadership, vision, investment, and…