Equities gain N88bn as buy-side activity increases on Nigerian Exchange
Nigeria’s equities market on Wednesday recorded its third gain this week, rising by N88billion or 0.34 percent, thanks to stocks like Union Bank of Nigeria Plc which rallied most by 40kobo or 6.56percent, from day-open low of N6.10 to N6.50.
Since this holiday-shortened week, stock investors on Custom Street, Lagos have been hunting for bargain in value stocks that had reach record lows following last week’s sell-off on the Bourse.
Other stocks that drove the market higher on Wednesday include Meyer Plc which rose from N1.36 to N1.49, after adding 13kobo or 9.56percent; Ikeja Hotel Plc which increased from N1.19 to N1.30, adding 11kobo or 9.24percent; and Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc which rose from N1.18 to N1.26, adding 8kobo or 6.78percent.
The Nigerian Exchange All Share Index (ASI) furthered its northward movement by 0.34percent to 47,367.31 points on Wednesday as against preceding day’s 47,205.03 points.
The market’s positive return year-to-date (YtD) increased to 10.89percent. In 5,419 deals, investors exchanged 391,889,051 units valued at N9.951billion. GTCO, Zenith Bank, UBA, Fidelity Bank and MTNN were most traded stocks on the Nigeria Exchange.
Likewise, the value of listed stocks on the Exchange increased by N88billion from N25.448trillion recorded the preceding day to N25.536trillion.
Zenith Bank Plc appoints Adobi Nwapa, Anthony Ogunranti as new EDs
Zenith Bank Plc has appointed Adobi Stella Nwapa and Anthony Akindele Ogunranti as new Executive Directors of the bank.
The appointment, which has been approved by the board of directors, “was in line with the bank’s tradition and succession strategy of grooming leaders from within”. A statement from the bank read.
The board also approved the appointment of Peter Olatunde Bamkole as an independent non-executive director and Chuks Emma Okoh as a non-executive director of the bank.
The new appointments were approved by the CBN on April 12.
The bank, which recently held its 31st AGM, believes that these appointments will bring fresh ideas and renewed vigour to help the bank meet its revenue target for the financial year 2022.
Adobi Stella Nwapa, a graduate of history from Imo State University, has more than 29 years of cognate experience in the banking sector. She is a pioneer staff member of the bank and has risen to become an executive director of the bank.
On the hand, Anthony Akindele Ogunranti, who before this appointment was the CEO of Zenith Bank Ghana Limited, led the bank to achieve exceptional results. According to the statement, “Under his leadership, the bank received several laurels and awards, notable among them being the Bank of the Year 2020 and the Best Bank in Ghana 2021.”
Ogunranti holds a B.Sc (Hons) in International Relations from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, an MBA in Marketing, and an M.Sc. in Banking and Finance from the University of Ibadan.
He also has more than 30 years of experience in the banking industry.
The bank believes that their wealth of experience and intelligence will help the bank achieve greater things in the future.
Other appointments, such as the appointment of Peter Olatunde Bamkole as an independent non-executive director and the appointment of Chuks Emma Okoh as a non-executive director, were also announced.
Tunisia raises fuel prices again as labour threatens strike
It was reported that Tunisia has raised the price of fuel by exactly 5%, making it the third time this year that it has done so. The government had used this policy as a way to address its budget deficit, a policy change wanted by the country’s international lenders.
Reuters reported that the country, which is experiencing its greatest financial crisis, is hoping to reach a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a new funding package in exchange for less fancy and popularly unacceptable measures, including a reduction in gasoline and food subsidies.
From 2.220 dinars to 2.330 dinars ($0.78), the price of gasoline has already gone up.
The country’s labour union has publicly rejected the policy of an increase in fuel and electricity, including the freeze on public-sector pay. They have threatened to embark on a general strike unless the government rescinds those unpopular policies.
Reuters reported that the Energy Ministry had attributed the increase in gasoline prices to the turmoil in the energy markets and the effect the war in Ukraine has had on the supply of global crude.
The energy ministry reported that every $1 increase in the price of a barrel of oil results in a raise in annual funding for the government budget of $140 million.
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Australia’s unemployment rate stays at 13.6 year low
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported that the country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment stood at 4.0% in March 2022, still one of the lowest in 13 years and 6 months.
When compared with the market consensus of 3.9%, the bureau agreed that the number of people actively looking for work dropped by 12,100 to 551,300, with the number of people looking for only part-time work down from 25,500 to 162,000.
However, figures from the Bureau showed that those who were engaged in full-time employment rose by 15,000 to 389,300.
Following the positives from the report, the bureau said that employment rose by 17,900 to a “record high of 13.390 million”. Other data revealed that full-time employment increased by 20,500 to 9,248,600, while part-time employment fell by 2,700 to 4,141,300.
The conclusion of the report reveals that the country is not as affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine as it has fully recovered from the COVID-19 influenced recession.
In the larger scheme of things, countries with high unemployment rates will see their citizens view Australia as a country for an improvement in living standards.
Silver Hits 4-week high
Silver rose to a 4-week high of 25.831 USD/t.oz following fears over rising inflation in the US, which knocked off expectations of higher Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and higher treasury yields.
The March inflation figure rose to a 40-year high of 8.5%, according to the US CPI.
Tradingeconomics also reported that other inflation figures, such as the core CPI, rose 6.5% year-over-year and 0.3% month-over-month, both of which they believed were below expectations, indicating that inflation could be peaking.
The consensus is that the Federal Reserve will most likely raise interest rates so that it can stop the rise in prices, which is happening as unemployment rises and incomes fall.
