Economy
Rising Tensions in Hong Kong May Lead to Pullback on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Friday, with stocks likely to move back to the downside after trending higher in recent sessions.
Rising tensions in Hong Kong may weigh on Wall Street amid concerns widespread protests could impact the ability of the U.S. and China to reach a phase on trade deal.
Traders may also look to take some profits after the upward trend see over the past several sessions lifted the major averages to new record highs.
However, the markets have recently shown a resistance to giving back much ground, with traders seemingly concerned about missing out on further upside.
Overall trading activity is likely to remain subdued, as some traders to the sidelines following the holiday on Thursday.
A lack of major U.S. economic news may also contribute to light trading activity along with the early close for the markets.
Extending the upward trend seen over the past few sessions, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. Buying interest was somewhat subdued, but the major averages still managed to reach new record closing highs.
The major averages all closed in positive territory, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 just off their highs of the session. The Dow rose 42.32 points or 0.2 percent to 28,164.00, the Nasdaq advanced 57.24 points or 0.7 percent to 8,705.18 and the S&P 500 climbed 13.11 points or 0.4 percent to 3,153.63.
The markets continued to benefit from optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal after President Donald Trump said trade talks are “going very well.”
“We’re in the final throes of a very important deal ? I guess you could say, one of the most important deals in trade ever,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
The continued strength on Wall Street also came following the release of some upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing durable goods orders unexpectedly rebounded in the month of October.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders climbed by 0.6 percent in October after plunging by a revised 1.4 percent in September.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to decrease by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.2 percent slump that had been reported for the previous month.
Separately, revised data released by the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy grew by more than initially estimated in the third quarter.
The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product jumped by 2.1 percent in the third quarter compared to the previously estimated 1.9 percent increase. Economists had expected the pace of GDP growth to be unrevised.
The stronger than previous estimated growth reflected upward revisions to private inventory investment, non-residential fixed investment, and consumer spending.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors released a report unexpectedly showing a sharp pullback in U.S. pending home sales in the month of October.
NAR said its pending home sales index plunged by 1.7 percent to 106.7 in October after surging up by 1.4 percent to a revised 108.6 in September.
Economists had expected pending home sales to climb by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.5 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
The Commerce Department also released a separate report showing U.S. personal income came in nearly flat in the month of October, although personal spending rose in line with economist estimates.
Late in the trading day, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book, which said U.S. economic activity expanded modestly from October through mid-November.
The Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in the twelve Fed districts, noted economic growth continued at a similar pace to the prior reporting period.
Trading activity was relatively light, however, as some traders looked to get a head start on the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.
Oil service stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2 percent. The strength among oil service stocks came despite a decrease by the price of crude oil.
Significant strength was also visible among tobacco stocks, with the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index climbing by 1.2 percent to its best closing level in over two months.
Natural gas and biotechnology stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves.
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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