Economy
Wall Street Opens Flat on Looming Jobs Data
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after moving sharply higher over the two previous sessions.
The markets could continue to benefit from continued optimism about a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, although lingering trade concerns are likely to keep any buying interest somewhat subdued.
Overall trading activity may also remain light as some traders may stay on the sidelines ahead of the release of the Labor Department?s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Employment is expected to climb by 185,000 jobs in May after surging up by 263,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.6 percent.
The strength of the jobs data could have a notable impact on the perceived prospects for a near-term interest rate cut by the Fed.
After fluctuating early in the session, stocks moved notably higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. With the upward move on the day, the major averages extended the substantial rally seen in the previous session.
The major averages reached new highs for the session going into the close of trading. The Dow jumped 207.39 points or 0.8 percent to 25,539.57, the Nasdaq climbed 48.36 points or 0.6 percent to 7,575.48 and the S&P 500 advanced 22.88 points or 0.8 percent to 2,826.15.
Stocks continued to benefit from optimism about a potential interest rate cut after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s pledged to sustain the U.S. economic expansion.
Citing uncertainty surrounding trade negotiations and other matters, Powell said in a speech on Tuesday that the central bank will act “as appropriate” to support the economy.
Powell’s comments were widely seen as an indication the Fed is prepared to discuss lowering interest rates if escalating global trade disputes weigh down economic growth.
A report from payroll processor ADP showing much weaker than expected private sector job growth in May initially generated some negative sentiment but was subsequently seen as adding to the case for a rate cut.
ADP said private sector employment edged up by 27,000 jobs in May after spiking by a downwardly revised 271,000 jobs in April.
Economists had expected employment to increase by 180,000 jobs compared to the jump of 275,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
“Job growth is moderating,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Labor shortages are impeding job growth, particularly at small companies, and layoffs at brick-and-mortar retailers are hurting.”
Later in the day, traders largely shrugged off the Fed’s Beige Book, which said economic activity in the U.S. expanded at a modest pace overall from April through mid-May.
The Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in the twelve Fed districts, noted the assessment of the overall economy reflected a slight improvement over the slight-to-moderate growth indicated in the previous report.
Interest rate-sensitive utilities and commercial real estate stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances amid optimism about a future rate cut.
Reflecting the strength in the sectors, the Dow Jones Utility Average and the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index both surged up by 2.1 percent.
Software and networking stocks also extended the rebound seen in the previous session, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index and the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.9 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, energy stocks saw significant weakness on the day, with a steep drop by the price of crude oil weighing on the sector.
Crude for July delivery tumbled following the release of a report showing a weekly jump in U.S. crude oil inventories.
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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