Economy
Asian Stocks Rise Broadly on Thursday
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday as easing political tensions in Hong Kong and Britain helped improve investors’ appetite for risk.
Investors also cheered news that the U.S. and China have agreed to hold ministerial-level trade talks in Washington in early October.
Chinese stocks closed higher on hopes that Beijing will cut lenders’ reserve requirements again to shore up the economy.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 28.45 points, or 1 percent, to 2,985.86, although Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged slightly lower after yesterday?s rally.
Japanese shares hit a one-month high as the U.S. and China agreed to resume trade talks and Hong Kong withdrew the contentious extradition bill that sparked recent protests. The Nikkei 225 Index spiked 436.80 points, or 2.1 percent, to 21,085.94, the highest close since August 2.
The broader Topix closed 1.8 percent higher at 1,534.46, with precision machinery and sea transport stocks pacing the gainers.
Medical-related service provider M3 Inc. soared 10 percent, while baseball stadium operator Tokyo Dome Corp. slumped 8.4 percent as index provider Nikkei announced changes to the Nikkei 225 share average.
Tech stocks surged, with Advantest spiking 6.6 percent and Tokyo Electron jumping 4.2 percent. Nissan Motor advanced 2 percent as its President and CEO Hiroto Saikawa reportedly admitted to being overpaid by an equity-linked remuneration scheme designed by Chairman Carlos Ghosn.
Australian markets followed global peers higher amid easing worries over political risks in Britain, Italy and Hong Kong. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 60.20 points, or 0.9 percent, to 6,613.20, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 64.70 points, or 1 percent, at 6,720.80.
The big four banks rose between 0.7 percent and 1.1 percent, while mining giant Rio Tinto advanced 1.8 percent and smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group jumped 3.4 percent. Coal miner Whitehaven Coal plunged 9.4 percent on going ex-dividend.
CYBG shares slumped 20.3 percent after the British lender said it expected to bear a ‘material’ cost following a spike in claims for mis-sold payment protection insurance.
Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Origin Energy and Oil Search rose 1-2 percent after oil prices soared over 4 percent overnight on the back of positive economic data from China.
Department store operator Myer Holdings jumped 10.5 percent after it swung to an annual profit versus a loss last year.
On the other hand, retail pharmacy group Sigma Healthcare dropped 1.6 percent after reporting an 81 percent slump in half-year profits.
Australia’s trade surplus declined in July as exports logged only marginal growth, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed today. The trade surplus declined to A$7.26 billion in July from June’s record A$7.97 billion.
Seoul stocks advanced after reports that negotiating teams from China and the U.S. will meet in Washington in early October to look for a solution to their year-long trade dispute.
The benchmark Kospi rose 16.22 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 2,004.75, breaching the psychologically significant 2,000 level for the first time since August 1.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics climbed 3.6 percent, while chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 3.8 percent.
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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