Author: Julius Alagbe
Julius Alagbe is a senior financial journalist and Editor at MarketForces Africa with nearly two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and economics reporting.He is one of Nigeria's most prolific financial market reporters, covering capital markets, monetary policy, corporate earnings, banking, telecoms, and macroeconomic developments across Africa.Julius has built a strong footprint reporting on Nigeria's leading corporates and financial services sector, including coverage of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Central Bank of Nigeria monetary operations, MTN Nigeria, GTCO, and major investment banking transactions.He regularly monitors the CBN’s open market operations, interbank FX markets, and equity market movements, providing readers with real-time intelligence on Nigeria’s financial landscape.His reporting draws on direct access to institutional research from firms including Moody’s Ratings, CardinalStone Securities, Fitch, and other leading African investment houses.Julius brings analytical depth and editorial rigour to every story, making complex financial data accessible to professionals, investors, and policymakers across Africa.Julius Alagbe is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
NGX Tops N145trn as Industrial, Banking Stocks Rally The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) topped N145 trillion on Friday, driven by cement, banking and oil stocks. The stock market closed the week on a positive note, with key market indicators rising 1.30%. The bullish performance reflected strong investor confidence, as they maintained positive trading momentum, shown by their buying across all major market sectors. Medium and large-cap stocks such as WAPCO, OANDO, BUACEMENT, DANGCEM, WEMABANK, among others, recorded significant price appreciation at the close of trading today. The NGX All-Share Index added 2,886.65 basis points in today’s trading session, reflecting a 1.30%…
XRP is up 1.05% to $1.45 on Friday, outperforming a flat market, primarily driven by a key institutional adoption catalyst. Coinbase’s upcoming institutional trading feature for XRP futures, announced to launch May 1, signals deeper liquidity and reduced execution risk for large investors.
Dogecoin (DOGEUSD) price climbed to $0.0975, slightly outpacing a flat market, driven primarily by speculative positioning in derivatives markets.
CBN Hikes ATM Issuance Fee, Cancels Maintenance Charges The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the cost of issuing and replacing Automated Teller Machine (ATM) debit and credit cards by 50 per cent. The Apex Bank has raised the ATM card issuance fee to ₦1,500 from ₦1,000. The move is part of a broader review of banking charges across the financial sector. Also, the CBN cancelled N50 monthly maintenance charge previously applied to naira debit and credit cards, a fee that often attracted an additional 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax. However, customers using foreign currency-denominated debit and credit…
Oil prices rose on Friday as persistent tensions between the United States and Iran, along with continued disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, fueled concerns about global supply.
Fixed-interest security investors stayed quiet in the secondary market for Nigerian government bonds ahead of the April auction scheduled for next week.
The Nigerian Treasury bills (NTB) yield declined as investors stepped up buying in the secondary market after the midweek auction, where the Central Bank kept spot rates across tenors unchanged.
Ripple’s XRP is up 0.56% to $1.43 after a failed breakout, primarily driven by technical momentum within a defined range. The token’s target price, however, shifted to $1.70, though it had struggled to break $1.60, while a new resistance level keeps forming amid geopolitical disturbances.
CSCS Shareholders Approve N1.78 Dividend Per Share The Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS) has posted a gross earnings of N28.67 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2025. The gross earnings represented a 10 per cent increase when compared with N26.09 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2024. Mr Temi Popoola, Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors, disclosed this during the 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos on Thursday. During the AGM, the shareholders approved the board’s proposed dividend of N1.78 per share, totalling N8.9 billion. Popoola said the company’s operating income grew by…
The naira dipped against the US dollar at the official window, as data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed a slump.