Economy
Asian Equities Rise Amid Protests in Hong Kong
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Friday, even as Chinese and Hong Kong markets ended on a muted note amid the ongoing mass protests in Hong Kong calling for political freedom and self-determination for the semi-autonomous territory.
Underlying sentiment remained supported by signs that the U.S. and China are set to resume trade talks in September.
Chinese shares slipped into the red as investors awaited manufacturing data for directional cues. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 4.68 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,886.24, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gave up early gains to end roughly flat.
Meanwhile, Japanese shares rose as the yen moved lower following positive developments in the U.S.-China trade war and investors digested a raft of mixed local economic data.
Industrial production in Japan rose a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent sequentially in July, a preliminary reading showed. That beat forecasts for a 0.3 percent gain following the 3.3 percent drop in June.
Japan’s retail trade declined 2.3 percent in the month, and the jobless rate dipped to its lowest level in 27 years, while overall consumer prices in the Tokyo region were up 0.6 percent year-on-year in August, separate reports showed.
The Nikkei 225 Index surged up 243.44 points, or 1.2 percent, to 20,704.37, while the broader Topix closed 1.5 percent higher at 1,511.86.
Exporters Canon, Honda Motor, Toyota Motor and Honda Motor rose 1-2 percent. In the tech sector, Advantest soared 4.4 percent and Tokyo Electron advanced 1.7 percent. Market heavyweight SoftBank climbed 2.9 percent.
Australian markets ended sharply higher, with banks, miners and technology stocks leading the surge on hopes of easing U.S.-China trade tensions.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 96.80 points, or 1.5 percent, to 6,604.20, extending gains for the fourth straight session. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 92.50 points, or 1.4 percent, at 6,698.20.
The big four banks rose 1-2 percent in reaction to soothing comments on trade by the Chinese Commerce Ministry.
Miners BHP, Rio Tinto, South32 and Fortescue Metals Group jumped 2-4 percent, while Afterpay Touch Group, a technology-driven payments company, soared 4.6 percent. In the oil sector, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Santos climbed 2-3 percent.
Shipbuilder Austal surged up by 14.4 percent as it reported a 64 percent spike in full-year profit on strong revenue growth.
On the other hand, lithium miner Galaxy Resources lost 2.2 percent after reporting a huge half-year loss, primarily due to an impairment charge related to its flagship Mt Cattlin project.
Gold miners Evolution, Northern Star and Regis Resources dropped 1-2 percent as gold prices edged lower on positive signs for trade talks.
Shares of Slater and Gordon were placed in a trading halt as the law firm taps shareholders to raise A$75.6 million to pay down its debt and bolster its balance sheet.
Seoul stocks posted strong gains, with tech, auto and steel companies leading the surge, as the government finalized the most aggressive spending plan since the 2008/09 global financial crisis for next year and the country’s central bank maintained its key interest rate, as widely expected. The benchmark Kospi rallied 34.38 points, or 1.8 percent, to close at 1,967.79.
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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