Economy
Asian Equities Succumb to Selling Pressure
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday after upbeat U.S. economic data drove 10-year U.S. Treasury yields to their highest level since 2011, raising concerns the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates aggressively.
The Chinese markets remain closed all week for the National Day holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged 467.39 points or 1.7 percent to 26,623.87 on fears about an extended series of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Japanese shares closed lower after rising earlier in the day on the back of a weak yen and a record close on Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 135.34 points or 0.6 percent to 23,975.62, while the broader Topix Index closed marginally lower at 1,801.19.
A surge in U.S. Treasury yields helped lift banks, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui climbing around 3 percent. SoftBank Group rose 1.3 percent after announcing a joint venture with Toyota to create mobility services.
Meanwhile, cosmetics giant Shiseido Co. lost 4.7 percent on reports of increasing customs checks in China on citizens returning from overseas trips.
Australian shares ended higher, led by financials and resource stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 30.20 points or 0.5 percent to 6,176.30, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 28.70 points or 0.5 percent at 6,293.90.
BHP Billiton climbed 1 percent and Rio Tinto advanced 0.6 percent as metal prices firmed up. South32 soared 7.3 percent as aluminum prices hit five-week highs on news that Norsk Hydro is halting output at its Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil.
Alumina jumped nearly 15 percent to hit its highest level in 10 years before finishing higher by 10.8 percent.
The big four banks rose between 0.2 percent and 0.9 percent to snap a three-session losing streak. Magellan Financial Group jumped 7.8 percent after the fund manager announced a role-swap for its chairman and chief executive.
Bank of Queensland rallied 2.2 percent despite the lender reporting a 2 percent drop in full-year cash profits. Woodside Petroleum, Santos and Oil Search rose around 1 percent each as oil prices held near four-year highs.
On the data front, Australia’s trade surplus increased in August on higher exports, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed. The trade surplus rose to a seasonally adjusted A$1.6 billion from A$1.55 billion in July. Economists had forecast a decrease in the surplus to A$1.45 billion.
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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