Author: Marketforces Africa

Nigerian Exchange Index Falls, Equity Investors Lose N166bn The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-share index fell by 0.19% on Friday as equity investors lost about N166 billion due to sustained selloffs.  Selloffs dominated trading activities in the local bourse on the back of weak market sentiment and fading earnings season euphoria. Key performance indicators headed south and year to date return moderated to 36.30% as profit taking activities on banking, insurance and oil and gas become casualties of downbeat sentiment. The market strength was weighed down by sustained profit-taking in previously appreciated medium and high-cap stocks such as MANSARD, OANDO, ACCESSCORP,…

Naira Closed at N1,531 as CBN Sells Dollars to Banks The naira strengthened against the U.S dollar to N1,531 at the official FX window on Friday following the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The local currency had come under intense pressures this week, with the spot rate climbing near N1539 at the interbank market during the week. The unwanted trend in the currency market forced the Apex Bank intervention. During the week, the CBN sold $50 million to authorised dealer banks to ease foreign currency demand pressure, as reflected on intraday spot rate of N1538.5000 per dollar.…

Oil Price Drop as U.S. Slams 50% Tariff on Indian Imports Oil prices dropped in the global commodity market in Friday as the U.S imposed additional tariffs on Indian goods, threatening $87 billion in exports. The U.S tariffs on India fuelled trade concerns and expectations of weaker fuel demand with the end of the summer driving season. Brent crude was trading at $67.44 per barrel, down 0.2% from the previous close of $67.60. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 0.3% to $63.89 from $64.07 in the prior session. US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50% from…

Investors Take Profit on Treasury Bills, Yield Rises to 18.81% Investors booked profit in Nigerian Treasury bills secondary market across the short, belly and long end of the curve over sustained negative appetite for the naira asset. Due to sell pressures, yields increased by 18bps on the short-end, 1bp on the mid-segment, and 23bps on the long-end of the curve, CardinalStone Securities Limited told investors in a note. Consequently, the overall average yield increased to18.81 basis points, underscoring ongoing weak and negative investor sentiment in the secondary market. Traders reported that they saw mild buy interest emerged on the 20-Aug…

Minimum Wage Increase: NLC Seeks N150,000 for Lagos Workers The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Lagos State Chapter, is demanding N150, 000 minimum wage for Lagos State workers following increase in minimum wage by Imo and Ebonyi Governments. The Chairperson of NLC, Lagos State Chapter, Mrs Funmi Sesi, made the call on Thursday, while reacting to the minimum wage increase by Imo and Ebonyi governments. Sesi told the News Agency that there was the need for Lagos State to increase minimum wage for its workers from the current N85,000 to N150,000 in line with economic realities. She said that accommodation, transport,…

Ebonyi Government Increases Minimum Wage to N90,000 The Ebonyi Government has announced an increament in the minimum wage of civil servants from N70,000 to N90,000. The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Chief Ikeuwa Omebe, made the disclosure on Thursday, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the state Executive Council meeting. Omebe said that the increament was to enhance workers’ welfare, adding that the implementation was with immediate effect and covered all categories of the workforce. “We want to state categorically that this is not a political statement as this government does not toy with workers’ welfare. “The government has…

NNPC Plans Refinery Deal to Tackle Fuel Issues The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Bayo Ojulari, says the company is considering partnering with a professional refinery operator to address Nigeria’s lingering refining challenges. Ojulari said this on Thursday while receiving members of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) at the NNPC Towers in Abuja. He said NNPC had completed technical assessments on the country’s three refineries and recently concluded a commercial review of the Port Harcourt Refinery, which revealed the need…

Equity Investors Lose N438bn as Dangote, GTCO Decline Equity investors lost about N438 billion on Thursday as market value of Dangote Sugar Refinery, GTCO slumped due to sell pressures. Investors trimmed holding in some bellwether names in the local bourse, reflecting negative sentiment which dragged key performance indicators downward by 49 basis points. Trading pattern revealed that sell pressures concentrated in medium and high-cap stocks such as ELLAHLAKES, DANGSUGAR, GTCO, WAPCO, and 34 others. The Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index shed 691.52 basis points to close at 140,557.24. Likewise, equity market capitalisation fell by N437.54 billion to close at N88.93 trillion.…

Dangote Group, Ethiopia to Build $2.5bn Fertiliser Plant Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), the strategic investment arm of the Government of Ethiopia, and Dangote Group today announced the signing of a comprehensive shareholders’ agreement to develop, construct, and operate a world-class urea fertilizer production complex in Gode, Ethiopia. Under the partnership structure, EIH will hold a 40% equity stake while Dangote Group will maintain 60% ownership of the transformative project that represents one of the largest industrial investments in Ethiopian history. The ambitious project will establish one of the world’s largest single-site urea fertilizer production complexes, with production facilities boasting a…

Excess Funds in Banking System Keeps Rates Lower Excess liquidity level in the banking system kept short-term benchmark interest rates lower despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) effort to optimise the funding profile. At the close of business on Wednesday, the liquidity level in the financial system increased by more than N1.1 trillion to N2.578 trillion, according to an update from AIICO Capital Limited. Reflecting strong funding conditions, the money market rates pricing has dropped sharply from the 32% level to tracking below 27% with intermittent swings in overnight lending. A significant liquidity surge followed statutory revenue allocation inflows,…