The Nigerian stock market extended its positive momentum on Wednesday, marking the fifth consecutive bullish session.

 The market’s upward movement was driven by gains in equities like: Sovereign Trust Insurance, Champion Breweries, Livestock Feeds, Learn Africa, Mutual Benefits and 29 other stocks.

 The market capitalization increased by 0.

20 per cent, adding N315 billion to investors’ portfolio as the market opened at N158.399 trillion and closed higher at N158.714 trillion.

 Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.20 per cent, advancing by 487.

28 points to close at 244,791.79, compared to 244,304 51 recorded on Tuesday.

 Consequently, the market’s Year-to-Date return improved to 57.31 per cent.

 Also, the market breadth closed positive with 34 gainers against 26 losers.

 On the gainers’ chart, Sovereign Trust Insurance led by 9.69 per cent, closing at N2.15, Champion Breweries followed by 9.50 per cent, finishing at N10.95 while Livestock Feeds increased by 9.42 per cent, ending the session N7.55 per share.

 Similarly, Learn Africa gained by 9.09 per cent, settling at N8.40 and Mutual Benefits advanced by 8.93 per cent, closing at N3.05 per share.

Conversely, Industrial and Medical Gases led the losers’ chart by 9.93 per cent, settling at N27.65, John Holt trailed by 9.88 per cent, finishing at N7.30 while Livingtrust Mortgage Bank lost by 9.84 per cent, ending the session at N2.84 per share.

Also, Fidson Healthcare declined by 9.19 per cent, closing at N72.65 and Royal Exchange dipped by 9 per cent, finishing at 91k per share.

Market activity strengthened during the session, with total volume traded rising by 27.23 per cent to 662.43 million shares, valued at N37.45 billion in 63,271 deals.

Sterling Nigeria led trading volume with 142.04 million shares, accounting for 21.44 per cent of the total.

 Guaranty Trust Holding Company recorded the highest value traded at N5.27 billion, representing 14.07 per cent of the day’s total. (NAN)

Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, Okezie Ikpeazu, has called for the revitalisation of existing bilateral agreements with Spain, including the Bilateral Air Service Agreement, to strengthen economic cooperation and people-to-people relations between both countries.

Ikpeazu made the call after presenting his Letters of Credence to King Felipe VI of Spain at the Royal Palace in Madrid on Monday.

The presentation formally marked the commencement of Ikpeazu’s diplomatic assignment to Spain, according to a statement issued by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oluwafemi Adeniyi, on Tuesday.

During the ceremony, the ambassador conveyed the greetings and best wishes of President Bola Tinubu to the Spanish monarch, government and people.

He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Spain, particularly in trade and investment, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, education, culture, tourism, security and people-to-people exchanges.

Ikpeazu also expressed Nigeria’s readiness to work with the Spanish government, institutions and private sector to create new opportunities for economic partnerships and increase trade and investment between the two countries.

Speaking at a reception organised by the Nigerian Embassy in Madrid after the ceremony, the ambassador said existing bilateral agreements should be reviewed to reflect current economic and diplomatic priorities.

He specifically highlighted the Bilateral Air Service Agreement between Nigeria and Spain, stressing the need to facilitate direct air connectivity between the two countries. He said improved air links would help boost economic partnerships, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

Ikpeazu also called for a more robust and sustained bilateral partnership involving public institutions, the private sector, academia, cultural organisations, civil society groups and communities.

The ambassador expressed appreciation to the Spanish government and people for the warm reception accorded him and pledged to advance Nigeria’s interests while consolidating relations between the two countries.

He said, “The relations between the two countries offer significant opportunities for expanded cooperation,” while advocating broader stakeholder participation in strengthening the partnership.

Ikpeazu also acknowledged the contributions of Nigerians living in Spain, describing the Nigerian community as an important bridge for promoting understanding, friendship and cooperation between the peoples of both countries.

He reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigerian Embassy in Madrid to promoting and protecting the interests of Nigerian nationals in Spain.

The reception, a vin d’honneur held in his honour, was attended by members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of the Spanish government, business and cultural stakeholders, members of the Nigerian community and other friends and associates of Nigeria.

The envoy said the embassy would continue to work with the Spanish government, diplomatic community, private sector, development partners and Nigerian community to translate the goodwill between both countries into concrete outcomes.

Nigeria and Spain have maintained long standing bilateral relations, with cooperation spanning economic, diplomatic, cultural and people-to-people ties.

World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, has announced the appointment of Nobel laureate, Michael Kremer, as the institution’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President for Development Economics.

Banga made the announcement in a statement issued by the World Bank Online Media Centre on Wednesday.

According to the statement Kremer, a renowned development economist, will lead the World Bank Group’s research, data and analytical agenda.

“Kremer is known for tackling real world problems through innovative solutions grounded in rigorous research.

“He is also known for translating his findings into programmes that have reached hundreds of millions of people, from expanding vaccines access and school health programmes to supporting smallholder farmers.

“I am pleased to welcome him to the World Bank Group,” Banga said.

According to him, Kremer joins the group at a time when the world needs bold solutions to its most urgent development challenges.

“This includes creating jobs that meet the aspirations of more than 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the coming decade.

“Kremer has spent his career, not just identifying what works in development but proving it at scale and that is exactly the kind of thinking we need,” he said.

Banga said the World Bank Group had, in recent years, sought to strengthen the link between knowledge and development impact.

He said that the group did that by ensuring that research and data inform policies, investments, partnerships and scalable solutions across the public and private sectors.

Meanwhile, Kremer said the World Bank Group had significant capacity to develop and test innovative solutions to development challenges and the operational reach to scale them up and improve people’s lives.

According to him, the challenges ahead are enormous, including creating jobs at scale, unlocking the private capital needed to fund development, and ensuring that people have the health, education, and other services they need to thrive.

“At the same time, new technologies create huge opportunities to boost growth and human well-being.

“Data, evidence, and research can help firms and governments navigate both the challenges and opportunities,” he said.

Kremer said he was looking forward to working with staff across the World Bank Group and partners around the world.

With a PhD in Economics from Harvard University, Kremer is currently Director of the Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago, where he is a University Professor.

He has conducted research in areas including economic growth, technological change and development economics.

In 2019, Kremer jointly received the Nobel Prize in Economics with Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo for their research on “experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”.

Their research used randomised controlled trials to generate reliable knowledge and identity, teetevidence on development interventions and identify, test and scale practical solutions.

His current research focuses on innovation in education, health, water, finance and agriculture in developing countries.

Together with Rachel Glennerster, he proposed the use of Advance Market Commitments (AMCs) for vaccines and helped launch a 1.5-billion-dollar AMC for a pneumococcal vaccine with Gavi and the World Bank Group.

Vaccines purchased through the AMCs have reached 60 developing countries, addressing a major cause of infant mortality.

His research on deworming has also informed government programmes in Africa and South Asia, with two billion deworming treatments provided to children since 2014.

His work on digital agriculture and artificial intelligence-based agricultural weather forecasting has informed government programmes reaching more than 50 million people in Africa and South Asia.

Kremer also co-founded Precision Development, an initiative that uses digital technology to improve productivity and incomes among smallholder farmers.

He was also a co-founder of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Development Innovation Ventures, which has invested in more than 300 innovations reaching no fewer than 200 million people.

Among his honours, Kremer is a MacArthur Fellow, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He is also a Presidential Faculty Fellow, co-founder of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development and a Research Associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Before joining the University of Chicago, Kremer served as the Gates Professor of Developing Societies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University.

His appointment as World Bank Group Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President for Development Economics takes effect on Oct. 1. (NAN)