Stock market opens week on positive note, up 0.34%
The Nigeria stock market opened the new week on a positive note, rising by N96billion or 0.34percent in market value.
The market’s performance indicators – the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) All Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation increased from the preceding day’s lows of 52,908.24 points and N28.523 trillion respectively to 53,086.46 points and N28.619trillion.
In 4,297 deals, investors exchanged 755,623,987 shares valued at N8.902billion. FBN Holdings, Flour Mills, Lafarge Africa, Transcorp, Zenith Bank were most traded stocks on the Bourse.
Conoil led the gainers after rising from N29.10 to N32, adding N2.90 or 9.97percent; followed by Pharmadeko, which rose from N1.60 to N1.75, adding 15kobo or 9.37percent, and Learn Africa which increased from N2.18 to N2.37, adding 19kobo or 8.72percent.
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Lagos, Oando sign deal for electric mass transit buses
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oando Clean Energy Limited to roll out electric mass transit buses, charging infrastructure, and service centres.
Abimbola Akinajo, managing director of LAMATA, said in a statement that the MoU would accelerate the achievement of the government’s transportation goal and would positively impact the health of Lagosians and the environment.
“Oando Clean Energy came to us with a comprehensive solution that went beyond electric mass transit buses to include supporting infrastructure, and this was key for us, as the full remit of an EV support ecosystem is the only way to achieve success,” she said.
She said the collaboration would be part of a number of initiatives, including the Lagos State Blue and Red Rail, which would set the tone for the state’s eventual decarbonisation of the road transportation sector.
Akinajo said the initiative is looking at the future of automotive towards changing consumer behaviour, and ongoing improvements in battery and charging technology.
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Pound holds gains as Boris Johnson wins leadership vote
Calls for the energetic, charismatic, and oratorical flamboyant British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson to resign from leading the ruling Conservative Party took a bashing yesterday after the Prime Minister got a resounding vote of confidence at the British parliament.
The market reacted somewhat joyful as the British pound gained more than 0.25 percent of its exchange value against the US dollar to trade at $1.2532 as of 5:18 p.m. GMT. This followed news of his overwhelming support from his colleagues in the parliament after edging the votes 211 to 148.
For now, Johnson’s victory gives him a sign of relief to concentrate on governance but just like his predecessor before him, Theresa May he is not out of the radar, as next year could come with its own challenge for his continued leadership of the British government.
After Theresa May survived her vote of confidence in 2018, she resigned a month later following her poor leadership role in the BREXIT deal.
This vote of confidence came after widespread calls to ascertain his leadership qualities after violating COVID-19 lockdown rules with him hosting parties in his official London residence on 10 Downing Street.
Despite less fancied results, Wall Street manages to stay above
Expectation from investors about a buying rally in the major capital markets in the US after Friday’s sell-off was dashed following the Dow Jones flat closure on Monday.
Despite early buy pressure that saw the Dow Jones gain more than 300 basis points, it finished 0.04 percent higher than it did on Friday. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq didn’t fare any better as they both closed 0.5 percent higher, “easing from an over 1 percent advance earlier in the trading day,” according to a capital market report at Tradingeconomics.
However, the market is still waiting for further clarification about the likely impact the FED’s aggressive tightening policies will have on the economy following rising food and energy prices; global supply disruptions amid the Russia-Ukraine war; and falling earnings projections of most blue-chip companies.
Despite the good news of the US 10-Year Treasury yield breaking above the 3 percent coupon rate curve, all eyes will be on the US inflation report for May, which will guide the Jerome Powell-led US-Fed reserve on interest rate policy. Whether to continue as planned with the 50 basis point monthly increase for the next three months or calm down on the rate increase following a positive job report.
China’s richest man launches digital bank ANEXT in Singapore
The financial technology (FinTech) giant, the Ant Group, on Monday announced that it has launched its digital wholesale bank named ANEXT in Singapore.
Ant Group, which is the brainchild of China’s richest man, Jack Ma, is valued at over $200 billion according to Warburg Pincus LLC. The group, whose earlier Initial Public Offering (IPO) was stopped by the Chinese authorities on November 3, 2021, has gotten the go ahead with this approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to enter into the digital banking space.
This is another opportunity to increase returns to shareholders and provide value to customers whose “kick” is to explore the benefits of combining finance with technology.
ANEXT, which has already commenced operation with a lot of good reviews from customers, is one of Singapore’s first digital wholesale banking companies to be granted a licence to operate as a FINTECH company in the country.
“This marks yet another milestone in Singapore’s digital bank development journey, a strategic effort to ensure the banking sector remains progressive, globally competitive, and vibrant,” said MAS Chief Fintech Officer Sopnendu Mohanty.
