FEATURED
Dangote Cement rebounds as insurance stocks dominate top gainers
The Nigerian Stock Exchange ended the week on a positive note as the All Share Index closed at 32,841.69 basis points, up 1.19%. Year to date, the index is down 14.21%.
20 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than 29 in the previous week. 42 equities depreciated in price, higher than 40 of the previous week, while 107 equities remained unchanged higher than one hundred 100 equities recorded in the preceding week.
Top Gainers
Prestige Assurance Plc
Prestige Assurance was the best performing stock this week. The stock opened at N0.50 and closed at N0.56, up N0.06 or 12%. Year to date, the stock is up 12%, and is trading at a year high.
AXA Mansard Insurance Plc
AXA Mansard appreciated by 10% this week. The stock opened at N1.80 and closed at N1.98, up N0.18. Year to date, the stock is up 2.59%.
The Initiates Plc
The Initiates opened at N0.56 and closed at N0.61, up N0.05 or 8.93%. Year to date, the stock is down 25.61%.
Continental Reinsurance Plc
Continental Reinsurance Plc added 6.67% this week. The stock opened at N1.35 and closed at N1.44, up N0.09. Year to date, the stock is up 2.86%.
Africa Prudential Plc
Africa Prudential Plc opened at N4 and closed at N4.20, up N0.20 or 5%. Year to date, the stock is down 0.47%.
Dangote Cement Plc
Dangote Cement Plc appreciated by 5% during the week. The stock opened at N200 and closed at N210, up N10. Year to date, the stock is down 8.70%.
Access Bank Plc
Access Bank opened at N8 and closed at N8.30, up N0.30 or 3.75%. Year to date, the stock is down 20.57%.
Champion Breweries Plc
Champion Breweries added 3.70% during the week. The stock opened at N1.62 and closed at N1.68, up N0.06. Year to date, the stock is down 19.23%.
Cadbury Nigeria Plc
Cadbury Nigeria Plc opened at N9.50 and closed at N9.80, up N0.30 or 3.16%. Year to date, the stock is down 37.46%.
Zenith Bank Plc
Zenith Bank appreciated by 3.15% this week. The stock opened at N22.20 and closed at N22.90, up N0.70. Year to date, the stock is down 10.69%.
The bank this week released its results for the 9 months ended September 30, 2018. Gross Earnings fell from N531 billion in 2017 to N474 billion in 2018. Profit before tax however increased from N152 billion in 2017 to N167 billion in 2018. Profit after tax also increased from N129 billion in 2017 to N144 billion in 2018.
Top Losers
Cutix Plc
Cutix Plc declined by 42.82% this week. The stock opened at N3.90 and closed at N2.23, down N1.67. The sharp decline is largely due to its being marked down for a one for one bonus and dividend payment of N0.20. Ex mark down price was N1.85.
Year to date, the stock is up 10.95%.
Niger Insurance Plc
Niger Insurance opened at N0.33 and closed at N0.28, down N0.05 or 15.15%. Year to date, the stock is down 44%.
Universal Insurance Plc
Universal Insurance Plc shed 13.04% this week. The stock opened at N0.23 and closed at N0.20, down N0.03. Year to date, the stock is down 60%.
Japaul Oil and Maritime Plc
Japaul Oil and Maritime Plc opened at N0.24 and closed at N0.21, down N0.03 or 12.50%. Year to date, the stock is down 28%.
Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc
Sovereign Trust Insurance opened at N0.24 and closed at N0.21, down N0.03, or 12.50%. Year to date, the stock is down 58%.
Pharma Deko Plc
Pharma Deko Plc opened at N1.90 and closed at N1.68, down N0.22 or 11.58%. Year to date, the stock is down 28.81%.
Beta Glass Plc
Beta Glass declined by 10% this week. The stock opened at N78 and closed at N70.20, down N7.80. Year to date, the stock is up 36.82%.
Fidson Healthcare Plc
Fidson Healthcare Plc shed 10% this week. The stock opened at N6.00 and closed at N5.40, down N0.60. Year to date, the stock is up 45.95%.
Julius Berger Plc
Julius Berger Plc opened at N23.90 and closed at N21.55, down N2.35 or 9.83%. Year to date, the stock is down 23.04% and is trading at a year low.
C&I Leasing Plc
C&I Leasing Plc rounds up the top 10 losers for the week. The stock opened at N3 and closed at N2.71, down N0.29 or 9.67%. Year to date, the stock is up 110%.
FEATURED
Naira gains against the dollar at I&E window, as forex liquidity goes up by 358%
The performance of the naira at the I&E window, however, seems to contrast with that at the parallel market where the local currency lost N3 to a dollar as it depreciated to N450 to a dollar on Friday.
The naira has appreciated to N386.50 to a dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, despite the uncertainty of the foreign exchange market. The local currency was strengthened by N0.20 against the dollar, when compared to the N386.70 to a dollar that it traded on Thursday, June 4, 2020.
The exchange rate at the I&E window is different from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s published exchange rate, which currently stands at N360/$1. This is also different from the exchange rate at the parallel market, which depreciated to N450 to a dollar, according to information on AbokiFX as of Friday, June 5, 2020.
Available information from the daily trading at FMDQ (where FX is traded by importers and investors) shows that the naira improved against the dollar by N1.25, closing at N386.50 to a dollar, as against the indicative rate of N387.75 to a dollar that it opened with on Friday.
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s foreign reserves hit $36.57 billion; Emefiele keeps his word on defending the naira
A cursory look at the data from the FMDQ shows that the turnover for the day went up by about 358% at $112.89 million. This is against the $24.64 million turnovers that was recorded on Wednesday, June 3.
The performance of the naira at the I&E window, however, seems to contrast with that at the parallel market where the local currency lost N3 to a dollar as it depreciated to N450 to a dollar on Friday as against the previous day’s rate of N447 to a dollar.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had promised to provide more liquidity in the foreign exchange market, especially for genuine users while also discouraging currency speculators from heating up the market.
The apex bank yesterday debited the accounts of 25 commercial banks with the sum of N460 billion naira ($1.2 billion) as additional cash reserves for missing cash reserve ratio (CRR). Apart from serving as penalty to the banks, this also reduces the excess cash in the money market which might be used to put further pressure on the foreign exchange market.
Cryptocurrency
Satoshi Nakamoto highly unlikely to spend his 1.1 million BTC
Bitcoin’s creator is highly unlikely to use his BTC, which has remained dormant since 2009, since the start of the flagship cryptocurrency.
The Patoshi Pattern exposes the privacy flaws of an earlier protocol, v.01, to show evidence of blocks designed by Satoshi Nakamoto.
According to Patoshi Pattern researcher, Sergio Demian Lerner, Bitcoin’s creator is highly unlikely to use his BTC, which has remained dormant since 2009, since the start of the flagship cryptocurrency.
Sergio Demian said:
“Assuming Satoshi is Patoshi, I believe, based on the history of Satoshi coins, that Satoshi won’t use his coins ever. Therefore, I think that there couldn’t be a fairer and a more philanthropic way for Bitcoin to be born.”
READ MORE: The odds against Bitcoin- Goldman Sachs
What you need to know about Satoshi Nakamoto: Bitcoin was created in 2008 by an unidentified individual or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, in 2009. The source code was released as an open-source code. The digital coin (BTC) is created as a reward for a process known as mining.
Last month, Bitcoin investors and traders invoked the Patoshi Pattern concept, to attribute 50 BTC mined during the early days of Bitcoin which suddenly moved last month, to the anonymous founder of the cryptocurrency.
Sergio Demian Lerner downplayed such a hypothesis, explaining that the block responsible for the 50 BTC fell outside blocks mined using the Patoshi Pattern.
The Patoshi Pattern depends on the assumption that Satoshi Nakamoto mined during the start of Bitcoin to confirm his concepts, and that he mined using v.01 of the Bitcoin Code.
FEATURED
Naira falls at the black market despite growing Nigerian foreign exchange reserves
According to the latest data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves now stand at $36.57 billion.
The naira depreciated on Friday at the parallel segment of the foreign exchange market against the United States dollar. It sold at N450 to $1, compared to N447 against the dollar, which was recorded on Thursday as some importers rushed to meet their foreign exchange payment obligations before the close of the week.
In addition, it should be noted that just recently, Nigeria’s central bank had paused the selling of U.S dollars to foreign investors and manufacturers seeking to retrieve their funds at the height of the oil crisis. This was done in a bid to protect the value of the naira, according to reports credited to Bloomberg news.
READ ALSO: CBN reacts to videos, pictures of new N2,000 and N5,000 in circulation
“Remedial policy action was taken by the central bank and increased government borrowing will help contain liquidity pressures,” said Mahmoud Harb, a director at Fitch Ratings.
Meanwhile, according to the latest data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves now stand at $36.57 billion, having increased sharply from $33.42 billion as of April 29, 2020. This shows a gain of $3.15 billion dollars in 36 days.
READ ALSO: Forex turnover drops by 28.3% as naira depreciates against the dollar at I&E window
The macro fundamentals surrounding Nigeria’s major export, including the recent surge in crude oil prices to about $41, seem to have helped Nigeria’s foreign reserve to rise at such a steady pace.
However, according to data recently obtained from Bloomberg news, twelve-month naira forwards traded at N454.50 per dollar at 11.43 a.m. on Wednesday, down from a high N522.56 to the dollar on April 20. This shows that currency traders are bullish on the naira at the mid-term macro level.
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