Author: Marketforces Africa

Equities Investors Lose N53bn as Seplat, Oando, GTCO Fall Equities investors lost more than N53 billion as Seplat Energy, Oando, and GTCO market value declined due to sell pressure witnessed in the trading platform of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).  As a result of negative price movements, the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index closed lower, slipping by -0.08% to settle at 111,818.08 points. The market changed course after bullish streaks, closing in negative territory, as profit-taking in some blue-chip stocks, particularly SEPLAT, weighed on the overall market performance. Key market performance indicators slipped by 0.08%. The All-Share index shed 84.53 basis points…

Unilever Nigeria Hits 52-Week High, Approaches New Target Price Unilever Nigeria Plc’s market value soared to a new 52-week high in a fresh rally that lifted its share price by 4.35% to N48 in the equities market, a moderate discount to the fresh target price set by equities analysts at WSTC Securities Limited. The consumer goods company’s share price surged to N48 in the stock market as 3.219 million units valued at N153.953 million were transacted on the Nigerian Exchange trading platform on Thursday. Unilever Nigeria Plc’s market value is way ahead of its 52-week low of N15.05, suggesting a…

TotalEnergies Divests Interest in Bonga Field for $510m TotalEnergies has announced that its subsidiary TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (TEPNG) signed an agreement with Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) for the sale of its non-operated 12.5% interest in the OML118 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for an amount of $ 510 million. The company said in an official statement that OML118 PSC is operated by SNEPCo (55%), in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (20%), TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (12.5%), and Nigerian Agip Exploration (12.5%). Located deep offshore at 120 km south of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, it contains…

Federal Govt. Introduces Degree Programme in AI The federal government has introduced specialised Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja According to him, other newly introduced degree programmes included, Cyber-security, Software Engineering, and Networking Assessing the impact of President Bola Tinubu’s administration after two years in office, Bugaje said the move is a major stride toward aligning Nigeria’s education system with global technological trends. According to him, the move is also part of…

Naira Depreciates to N1590 as Gross External Reserves Decline The naira depreciated against the US dollar across foreign exchange (FX) markets as data showed that the gross balance in Nigeria’s external reserves declined in sequence in the last three days. The currency market anticipates additional support from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention after a $50 million injection the previous day. During the session, the USD/NGN pair traded within a range of N1,589.50 to N1,595.00. At the end of the trading activities in the forex market, the naira weakened by 44 bps, closing at N1,590.7471. Analysts at AIICO expect…

CBN Hikes Interest Rates as OMO Bills Demand Slows The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hiked the interest rates on mid-tenor open market operation (OMO) bills floated at the primary market auction (PMA) on Wednesday – a reaction to a moderate surge in financial system liquidity. The CBN floated another OMO auction, offering ₦600 billion across 104-day and 139-day tenors. This marked the second market operation of the week, with the same offer size. The OMO bills offered to banks and foreign portfolio investors, who were the eligible market participants, were a move to absorb excess liquidity in the financial…

FG’s Series VII Sukuk Offer Attracts N2.21trn Subscription The Debt Management Office (DMO) says the recently issued Series VII Sovereign Sukuk valued at N300 billion attracted N2.205 trillion subscription. The DMO said this in a statement on Wednesday, in Abuja. According to the office, this represents a 735 per cent subscription level, a clear evidence of the huge investor-appetite for the ethical instrument it introduced in 2017. “The Sovereign Sukuk was introduced as an innovative strategy to expand the nation’s investor-base and provide opportunities for all Nigerians to participate in the capital market. “An analysis of the subscriptions showed that…

GCR Upgrades Nigerian Breweries’ Ratings Outlook After two years of net losses, GCR Ratings has affirmed the national scale long-term and short-term issuer ratings of AA (NG) and A1+(NG), respectively, accorded to Nigerian Breweries Plc, with the outlook revised to stable from evolving. The African-focused ratings agency highlighted that the ratings of Nigerian Breweries Plc reflect the company’s leading market position that has enabled strong growth and a return to profitability after two consecutive years of net losses. Following the successful rights issue of N548.9 billion, Nigerian Breweries has evidenced much lower debt, underpinning an improvement in leverage metrics. The…

NGX Index Hits Fresh High as NB, Dangote Sugar, MTN Rally The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index hits a fresh high after monster rallies that bolstered equities market capitalisation by about N2 trillion in four trading sessions.  The stock market ended on a positive note, extending the previous day’s rally, pushing key market performance indicators up by 0.27%. Stockbrokers said today’s upward price movement was driven by sustained buying interest in medium- and large-scale stocks, including HONYFLOUR, DANGSUGAR, NB, MTNN, and others. With the monster rally, equities investors’ wealth has grown by approximately ₦1.94 trillion over the last four consecutive…

N225bn Damages – Fidelity Bank Puts N14bn as Litigation Exposure for 77 Cases The Supreme Court awarded N225 billion in damages in just one case against Fidelity Bank Plc versus an estimated N14 billion set as its litigation exposure for 77 cases in 2024. The huge damages that is set to define Fidelity Bank Plc outlook came as rude shock for the tier-2 lender with N933.139 billion equity capital position in the first quarter. Before the amount was awarded in 2025, Fidelity Bank Plc said in its audited report that its total exposure across its cases was estimated at N14…