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SEC warns Nigerians against AI-generated investment scams

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Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned citizens against the rising wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven scams. In a statement on Sunday, the SEC said the commission had adopted an advanced surveillance system to detect fraudulent activities in real time. SEC said scammers were targeting unsuspecting investors with promises of guaranteed profits and fake celebrity endorsements. The commission said fraudsters were increasingly turning to fake videos and AI-generated content to lure victims. The commission said the manipulated videos featuring politicians, celebrities, and TV hosts were being shared through Facebook advertisements, Instagram reels, and Telegram groups.
Recalling how CBEX, Silverkuun, and TOFRO operated illegally, the SEC said such platforms were not registered or regulated by them.
“Scammers are exploiting AI to fabricate endorsements and testimonials that appear genuine. This has made traditional fraud detection methods less effective, hence the need for tech-enabled regulation and greater public awareness.
”We are moving from reactive to predictive oversight. This is essential in combating fraud and systemic risks in our market,” the commission said. According to the SEC, the regulator engaged the services of social media companies to clamp down on misleading advertisements and cautioned influencers against promoting unlicensed investment schemes. “Any influencer or blogger found to be complicit in promoting illegal platforms will face regulatory sanctions or even prosecution,” the SEC said. The commission urged citizens to take precautions before investing, stressing that any scheme promising daily profits, zero risk, or celebrity-backed endorsements should be treated with suspicion. SEC said partnerships with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) were being strengthened to enable data-sharing and joint enforcement actions. NAN

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NGX equity investors gain N97bn

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NGX market capitalisation inched up on Thursday as equity investors gained more than N92 billion in a wide price upswing that has lasted for three days. Trading activities closed on a positive note, and the bargain hunting boosted key market performance indicators by 0.10%.  The stock market index, or the All-Share Index, increased by 152.28 basis points, or 0.10%, to close at 145,476.15 basis points.

Also, NGX market capitalisation climbed by ₦97.06 billion to close at ₦92.73 trillion. Despite the negative breadth, the market rally reflects investors’ continued caution in the stock market. Stockbrokers reported buying interest in selective stocks including OANDO, WAPIC, UACN, TRANSCORP, GTCO, and others across all sectorial indexes.

In contrast, market activities inched lower as the total volume of all trades and their combine value by -14.15% and -8.47% respectively. Today, approximately 1,932.45 million units valued at ₦19,192.53 million were transacted across 23,369 deals.

FIDELITYBK was the volume driver, accounting for 9.04% of all stocks volume executed in the local bourse, followed by GTCO (8.25%), ZENITHBANK (7.90%), ETI (6.38%), and ACCESSCORP with 5.16%.
GTCO topped value chart, accounting for 19.52% of total value of all trades executed on the exchange – the highest traded on the exchange.
UACN led gainers chart, up by +10.00%, trailed by MORISON (+9.94%), ETI (+8.53%), WAPIC (+8.47%), MANSARD (+7.75%), FTNCOCOA (+7.10%), and seventeen others.

A total of twenty-eight (28) stocks depreciated, according to market report released by Atlass Portfolio Limited. With a price depreciation of -10.00%, ELLAHLAKES and EUNISELL both topped the worst performers’ chart, followed by TRANSCOHOT (-9.95%), OMATEK (-9.23%), GUINEAINS (-8.46%), and CAP (-6.16%).

Hence, the market breadth closed on a negative note, as there were 23 gainers and 28 losers. The sectoral performance was positive, as all five major market sectors appreciated. The insurance sector led with an increase of +1.56%, followed by the banking sector (+0.91%), the industrial goods sector (+0.48%), the consumer goods sector (+0.28%), and the oil & gas sector (+0.08%).

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Stock market  investors gain N252bn as NGX Index rises 27 bps

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Nigerian Exchange (NGX) continued its upward trajectory on Wednesday, with the All-Share Index climbing by 0.27% to reach 145,323.87 points. NGX market capitalisation rose to ₦92.38 trillion as equities investors gained N252 billion. The market demonstrated positive momentum, reflected in a breadth ratio of 1.9x, with 30 stocks posting gains compared to 16 that declined, stockbrokers said. The bullish momentum was fuelled by interest in some oversold stocks across key sectors. Among the top performers were GUINNESS, NCR, NGXGROUP, MULTIVERSE, and SKYAVN, while VERITASKAP, LASACO, PRESTIGE, ROYALEX, and ETI experienced the most significant declines.

Stockbrokers also noted positive price movement in BUACEMENT, UBA, GUINNESS, WEMABANK, STERLINGNG, among others. The All-Share Index added 395.51 basis points to close at 145,323.87 basis points. Trading metrics presented contrasting patterns as the volume of shares traded jumped dramatically by 271.27% to 2.25 billion units, and the number of transactions increased 45.45% to 21,513 deals. Conversely, the total value of transactions dropped 47.17% to ₦20.97 billion. ACCESSCORP emerged as the most traded stock, accounting for 13.60%, followed by ZENITHBANK (13.17%), GTCO (8.70%), STERLINGNG (6.27%), and FIDELITYBK with 5.25%.

ZENITHBANK topped the value chart, accounting for 20.54% of the total value of all trades executed in the local bourse. GUINNESS led the performers chart, gaining +10.00%, trailed by NCR (+9.98%), NGXGROUP (+9.96%), MULTIVERSE (+9.95%), SKYAVN (+9.74%), OMATEK (+5.69%), and twenty-four others. A total of fifteen (15) stocks depreciated, according to data obtained from the local bourse. With a price depreciation of -4.47%, VERITASKAP topped the worst performers’ chart, followed by LASACO (-3.77%), PRESTIGE (-3.03%), ROYALEX (-2.56%), ETI (-1.88%), and CORNERST (-1.75%). Hence, the market breadth closed on a positive note, as there were 30 gainers and 15 losers, stockbrokers reported.

Sector performance showed varied results: the Banking sector led with a 0.65% gain, followed by Industrial Goods which rose 0.47%; Consumer Goods up 0.38%; and Insurance advancing 0.27%. In contrast, the Oil & Gas sector fell 0.47% and Commodities declined 0.24% Ikeja Hotels hits highest valuation in 52 weeks gaining 45 per cent 

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NGX investors lose N129bn in one week

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The NGX All-Share Index fell by 0.14 per cent to 143,520.53, while market capitalisation closed at N91.286 trillion for the week.

This, compared with 143,722.62 points and N91.415 trillion recorded in the previous week, reflects weaker sentiment across the market.

Investors “lost about N129 billion this week as profit-taking continued across major counters”. Most indices closed lower, except NGX CG, NGX Premium, NGX Banking, NGX Pension, NGX AFR Div. Yield, NGX AFR Bank Value, NGX MERI Growth, NGX MERI Value, NGX Lotus II, NGX Growth and NGX Sovereign Bond.

These indices appreciated between 0.01 per cent and 0.94 per cent, showing selective interest in defensive stocks. Turnover rose to 4.140 billion shares worth N115.889 billion in 102,351 deals, higher than 2.668 billion shares valued at N106.264 billion last week.

The financial services industry led activity with 3.358 billion shares worth N81.175 billion in 43,392 deals.

This represented 81.10 per cent of total volume and 70.05 per cent of total value traded during the week.

The services industry followed with 148.272 million shares worth N1.319 billion exchanged in 7,181 deals. The consumer goods sector placed third with 143.638 million shares worth N7.988 billion in 12,099 trades.

Cornerstone Insurance, GTCO and Access Holdings accounted for 2.005 billion shares worth N47.535 billion in 10,185 deals.

These three stocks contributed 48.43 per cent of total turnover volume and 41.02 per cent of total value.

Thirty-eight equities gained during the week, up from 20 recorded previously, while 36 declined, compared with 60 in the prior week.

Seventy-three equities remained unchanged, higher than 67 posted in the previous trading week. Ikeja Hotel, NCR Nigeria, UACN, CWG and Veritas Kapital emerged top gainers, advancing by N9.40, N13.55, N8.90, N1.90 and 18k, respectively.

Meyer, Sunu Assurances, UPDC, Tantalizer and Abbey Mortgage Bank topped the losers’ chart, shedding N3.05, 68k, 68k, 26k and 65k, respectively.

The NGX disclosed the listing of 243,424 additional units of the Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund.

It said, “The additional units arose from the Fund’s 2025 Q3 scrip dividend distribution to qualifying holders.”

The NGX added that the Fund’s total units have increased to 1,056,257,953 following the fresh listing.

The exchange also confirmed the extension of VFD Group’s Rights Issue following SEC approval. It said trading in the company’s rights “will now close on Friday, December 26.”

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