Economy
Asian Equities Rise on Hike in Oil Prices
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks finished broadly higher on Monday as oil prices climbed and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy report released on Friday suggested a gradual pace of interest rate hikes in 2018.
U.S. bond yields declined from recent four-year highs as investors awaited U.S. inflation data and the first House testimony by the new head of the Federal Reserve for further insight on inflation and interest rates.
Chinese stocks rose for the sixth straight session ahead of the official and Caixin purchasing managers’ indexes due this week.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rallied 41.23 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 3,330.25, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 231.43 points or 0.74 percent to 31,498.60 after China’s ruling Communist Party proposed scrapping term limits for the country’s president.
Japanese shares rallied on the back of sharp rises in U.S. stocks on Friday. The benchmark Nikkei jumped 260.85 points or 1.19 percent to 22,153.65 while the broader Topix index closed 0.81 percent higher at 1,774.81 ahead of a barrage of data due this week.
Automakers Honda Motor and Mazda Motor rose over 1 percent while index heavyweights SoftBank and Fast Retailing gained 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
Inpex gained 1 percent and Japan Petroleum jumped 2.7 percent after crude oil prices gained more than 1 percent on Friday. Sharp Corp jumped over 4 percent on a Nikkei report that it would set up a joint venture with a Hon Hai subsidiary.
Australian shares rose for a fourth day, thanks to rising oil and iron ore prices as well as solid earnings results. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gained 42.40 points or 0.71 percent to finish above 6,000 points for the first time since February 5, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 40.90 points or 0.67 percent at 6,146.10.
Beach Energy advanced 1.5 percent and Woodside Petroleum rallied 1.8 percent as global oil prices hovered near three-week highs, helped by comments from Saudi Arabia that it would continue to curb exports to stabilize oil markets.
Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto ended on a mixed note. BlueScope Steel jumped 2.3 percent after the company extended its share buyback by a further $150 million for a second time. Ardent Leisure rose 2.9 percent after narrowing its first-half loss.
The big four banks rose between 1.3 percent and 1.9 percent after comments from a Fed official helped ease concerns about a faster pace of rate hikes in the U.S.
Gold miner Newcrest dropped 1.2 percent after it agreed to take a minority stake in Toronto-listed Lundin Gold.
Insurer QBE tumbled 3.3 percent after it swung to a full-year $US1.25 billion ($A1.6 billion) loss. Telco service provider Amaysim declined 3.9 percent after saying it would not declare interim dividend for 2018.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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