Economy
US Stocks Open Higher as Investors React to Economic Data
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a modestly higher opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside following the late-day pullback seen in the previous session.
Traders continue to digest the Federal Reserve?s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday, as the Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points and hinted at another rate hike this year and three more in 2019.
A slew of U.S. economic data may also impact trading on Wall Street, with a report from the Commerce Department showing a much bigger than expected jump in durable goods orders in the month of August.
After initially responding positively to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement, stocks came under pressure going into the close of trading on Wednesday. The major averages pulled back off their highs of the session and into negative territory.
The major averages ended the session just off their worst levels of the day. The Dow slid 106.93 points or 0.4 percent to 26,385.28, the Nasdaq dipped 17.10 points or 0.2 percent to 7,990.37 and the S&P 500 fell 9.59 points or 0.3 percent to 2,905.97.
Stocks initially moved higher after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 2 to 2.25 percent.
The accompany statement said data received since the Fed’s August meeting indicates the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising at a strong rate.
The central bank also reiterated that average job gains have been strong in recent months and noted annual inflation remains near 2 percent.
Traders seemed to react positively to the Fed removing word “accommodative” from its statement describing monetary policy as well as the fact the central bank’s projections for future rate hikes were largely unchanged from June.
The Fed’s projections for future rate hikes points to one more increase in rates this year and three rate hikes next year.
However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell later told reporters in his subsequent press conference that dropping “accommodative” from the statement does not signal a shift in the outlook for rates.
“The change does not signal any change in the likely path of policy,” Powell said. “Instead it is a sign that policy is proceeding in line with our expectations.”
Meanwhile, Powell also said it is not in the Fed’s forecasts to see inflation surprise to the upside when asked about what could lead the central bank to raise rates faster than currently anticipated.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing new home sales rebounded much more than expected in the month of August.
The report said new home sales soared by 3.5 percent to an annual rate of 629,000 in August after slumping by 1.6 percent to a revised rate of 608,000 in July. Economists had expected new home sales to rise by 0.5 percent.
Gold stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.9 percent. The weakness among gold stocks came amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal.
Notable weakness also emerged among energy stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent and 2 percent losses posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index, respectively.
Financial stocks also came under pressure as traders reacted to Powell’s comments, resulting in 1.5 percent drops by both the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index and the KBW Bank Index.
Utilities, commercial real estate, and steel stocks also came under pressure, contributing to the late-day pullback by the broader markets.
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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