Author: Marketforces Africa

Bitcoin Tops $100,000 on Fresh Optimism Bitcoin traded above $100,000 for the first time in three months, buoyed by investor optimism after US Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged. According to data from CoinMarketCap.com, BTCUSD is trading at $100,800 level, up by about 4% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum has continued to gaining momentum. In the last 24 hours, ETHUSD, the second largest crypto asset has seen about 13% price appreciation – trading at $2,044 on Thursday. Some crypto analysts linked Bitcoin’s latest bullish action to a potential trade deal between the US and the United Kingdom, which Trump hinted…

Airtel Africa Returns to Profitability, Declares Dividend Airtel Africa Plc earnings rebounded in financial year 2025 after the telecom group underwhelming performance in 2024, details from its audited results revealed. The telecom company revenues declined by 0.5% year on year to settle at $4.955 billion from $4.979 billion in the equivalent period in 2024. Management attributed the decline to currency devaluation which impacted reported revenues. Airtel said strong execution and the tariff adjustments in Nigeria contributed to a further quarter of accelerating growth, with Q4’25 revenue growth of 17.8% in reported currency as currency headwinds eased. For the year ended…

UBA Target Price Raised to N58.28 on Earnings Growth Projection Analysts at Cordros Securities Limited have increased UBA Plc target price to N58.28 per share following the group’s impressive earnings performance in the first quarter of 2025. This suggest a strong upside potential of about 70% at stock market reference price of N34.50 in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). UBA gross earnings grew by 37.3% in the first quarter of the year, the performance that a slew of analysts adjusted as great start to the year. The group’s hefty top line was driven by strong income from interest yielding assets and…

Otudeko: Court Adjourns to Allow for Continuation of Settlement Talks A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Thursday, adjourned until June 11, for continuation of settlement talks, in a suit against Chairman of the Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko and others. Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke adjourned the case for report of settlement, following information by first defence counsel, Mr Bode Olanipekun (SAN), that parties were still negotiating settlement. Olanipekun had told the court that settlement had not broken down but still on. Recall that at the last adjourned date of March 17, Chief Wole Olanipekun had informed the court that a meeting…

NGX Soars Intraday as Investors Hunt Banking Stocks The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index and market capitalisation soared sharply during the intraday trading session as investors showed significant interest in banking stocks. With significant intraday bets on some banking names, including Ecobank and GTCO, trading activities from the buy-side actors in the equities market pushed the key performance indicators higher amidst a fresh boom in Nigerian stocks. The market saw more than N1 trillion in capital appreciation yesterday, and the current trend has also signaled there will be huge gains on Wednesday. Apart from banking stocks, investors are also taking…

Oil Prices Rise Ahead of US-China Trade Talk Oil prices increased as markets and investors reacted positively to the US and China agreement to talk this weekend about retaliatory tariffs, while forecasts show a decline in US crude inventories. Brent crude increased by around 1.76%, trading at $62.98 per barrel, up from $61.89 at the previous session’s close. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate declined by about 0.22%, reaching $58.84 per barrel, compared to its prior session close of $58.71. Prices rose following reports that U.S. and Chinese officials will meet this week to discuss tariff-related trade issues while OPEC+…

Nigerian Treasury Bills Yield Falls Ahead of Midweek Auction In the secondary market, the average yield on Nigerian Treasury bills declined to about 21% ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) primary market auction (PMA) on Wednesday. Investors still showed preference for the naira assets amidst spot rates fluctuation and widening real return gap post-disinflation. On Tuesday, The Treasury bills yield curve shifted in the secondary market following an improved demand for the naira assets ahead of the midweek auction. Trading activity tightened, though some interest was noted in the March and April papers, causing a 10 basis point…

United Capital Grows Profit by 64% to N5.89bn in Q1 United Capital Plc, a pan-African financial services group, has posted N5.89 billion as its profit after tax (PAT) for the first quarter of 2025. This is against the N3.59 billion recorded within the same period in 2024. The group, in a document posted on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) platform on Tuesday, said the figure represented a 64 percent increase from the amount recorded within the same period in 2024. The group also declared N13.1 billion as its gross earnings for the first quarter, representing a 113 percent increase from…

Naira Diverged as FX Interventions Take $2.48bn in April The Nigerian naira traded on a mixed note across foreign currency markets as Central Bank FX interventions took $2.48 billion in April, while data showed gross external reserves pick up further, currently above $38 billion. The Apex Bank became aggressive in driving FX inflows with $2.48 billion spent to defend the local currency in the currency market in April. According to data from the CBN, the official exchange rate declined to N1606 per US dollar amidst expectationss that the local currency will continue to trade range bound with FX interventions. The…

Equities Investors Gain N1.04trn as Nigerian Stocks Boom Equities investors gained N1.044 trillion as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) boomed with heated-up bargain hunting.  The local bourse closed trading activities for today in the green, as key market performance indicators advanced by 1.56%. Sustaining the positive momentum from the previous session, the local bourse witnessed robust buying interest across major market sectors, particularly in blue-chip and mid-cap stocks. Notable gainers included ETI, NESTLE, MTN NIGERIAN, and OKOMUOIL, among others, contributing to the overall market uptrend. This marks the third consecutive session of gains, propelling the market index above the 108,000 mark…