Economy
Asian Equities Rise Tuesday Despite Weak Japanese Data
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks rose on Tuesday as hopes grew of progress towards resolving the U.S.-China trade war and reports suggested British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has prepared a blueprint for a new Brexit deal.
Chinese and Hong Kong markets were closed for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Japanese shares advanced despite the release of weak economic data. The Nikkei average climbed 129.40 points, or 0.6 percent, to 21,885.24, while the broader Topix closed 1 percent higher at 1,603.
Japan’s manufacturing sector contracted the most in seven months in September, as firms reduced production amid weak demand, survey data from IHS Markit showed. The corresponding index dropped to 48.9 from 49.3 in August.
Separately, the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey revealed the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in the third quarter, albeit at a slower pace, with a large manufacturing diffusion index score of +5.
That beat forecasts for +1, although it was down from +7 in the three months prior. The outlook came in at +2, exceeding expectations for 0 but also down from +7.
The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.2 percent in August, beneath expectations for 2.3 percent and unchanged from the previous month.
Honda motor, Nissan Motor and Panasonic climbed around 3 percent as the yen weakened amid easing U.S.-China trade tensions.
Apple-related companies gained ground as JP Morgan raised its iPhone volume forecasts for the September and December quarters. Murata Manufacturing advanced 2.8 percent and TDK Corp gained 2.7 percent.
Australian markets rose sharply as the Reserve Bank of Australia reduced its interest rates further as widely expected.
The board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, governed by Philip Lowe, decided to reduce the cash rate by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent, saying an extended period of low interest rates will be required to reach full employment and achieve the inflation target.
Meanwhile, investors shrugged off survey results from IHS Markit showing that Australia’s manufacturing sector expanded at a slower pace in September.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 54.50 points, or 0.8 percent, to 6,742.80 while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended the session up 52.40 points, or 0.8 percent, at 6,853.
Adelaide Brighton, a manufacturer of cement, lime and dry blended products, rallied 2.3 percent after home prices in the country posted their biggest monthly jump in 2-1/2 years in September.
Retailers Wesfarmers and Woolworths Group rose around 1 percent. Airline Qantas Airways surged up 2.4 percent after oil futures plunged overnight, sending U.S. prices to their lowest settlement in a month.
Seoul stocks rose for the second straight day as the country’s consumer prices declined for the first time on record in September and exports continued to fall, adding pressure on the central bank to ease monetary policy.
Consumer prices fell 0.4 percent year-on-year in September after staying flat in August, a government report showed. The benchmark Kospi gained 9.37 points, or 0.5 percent, to finish at 2,072.42, led by bio and chemical stocks.
Samsung BioLogics soared 5 percent as it won a patent lawsuit against Switzerland-based pharmaceutical giant Lonza.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.24 per cent on Friday, April 25 after the duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Afriland Properties Plc landed on the losers’ table.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N2.58 to sell at N35.37 per unit compared with the previous day’s N37.95 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 2 Kobo to close at N17.78 per share versus Thursday’s closing value of N17.80 per share.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 10 Kobo during the trading day to sell for N1.80 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.70 per unit. The rise in the price of the stock could not prevent the fall of the bourse yesterday.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went down by N4.64 billion to N1.914 trillion from N1.918 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 7.92 points to 3,269.06 points from 3,276.98 points.
The final trading session of the week ended with a surge of 1,695.8 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 3.7 billion units from the 206.2 milion units transacted in the previous trading day.
Equally, the value of transactions jumped by 2,592.6 per cent to N9.5 billion from N354.1 million on Thursday, and the number of deals decreased by 47.4 per cent to 20 deals from the 38 deals recorded a day earlier.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 259.3 million units worth N456.1 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 15.6 million units worth N598.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.30 per cent fall was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday as a result of profit-taking in the industrial goods sector.
This was mainly caused by sell-offs in Dangote Cement Plc, which released its financial statements for the first quarter of 2025 yesterday.
The cement maker lost 10.00 per cent during the session to trade at N432.00, Regency Alliance lost 8.06 per cent to close at 57 Kobo, VFD Group depreciated by 7.57 per cent to N17.10, Chams declined by 7.27 per cent to N2.04, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crashed by 6.12 per cent to 92 Kobo.
Conversely, International Breweries, Legend Internet, and Ikeja Hotel gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N7.70, N6.82, and N12.10 apiece, Vitafoam Nigeria surged by 9.93 per cent to N44.85, and Eterna rose by 9.92 per cent to N39.90.
The industrial goods index was down by 4.73 per cent on Friday, as the others finished in green territory.
The consumer goods space rose by 2.21 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 1.50 per cent, the energy sector increased by 0.07 per cent, and the commodity industry went up by 0.04 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 321.21 points to 105,753.05 points from 106,074.26 points and the market capitalisation shrank by N202 billion to N66.465 trillion from N66.667 trillion.
The level of activity increased yesterday as the trading volume, value, and number of deals grew by 30.40 per cent, 94.23 per cent, and 17.64 per cent, respectively.
This was because investors transacted 428.1 million shares worth N20.2 billion in 14,284 deals compared with the 328.3 million shares valued at N10.4 billion in traded in 12,142 deals a day earlier.
GTCO led the activity chart with 60.7 million equities sold for N3.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 41.4 million stocks worth N829.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 40.6 million shares valued at N968.3 million, MTN Nigeria sold 33.0 million equities for N8.2 billion, and Zenith Bank transacted 22.9 million stocks worth N1.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its gains against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, April 25 by 0.22 per cent or N3.59 to sell for N1,599.42/$1 compared with the N1,603.01/$1 it was traded in the previous session.
The Nigerian currency also improved its value against the Euro in the official market by N1.36 to close at N1,818.53/€1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,819.89/€1.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N1.90 to wrap the session at N2,130.44/£1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N2,128.50/£1.
At the black market segment, the Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N2 to quote at N1,605/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,607/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, a possible regulatory progress about digital assets in the US spurred buying interest among investors during the trading session.
The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Paul Atkins, was at a crypto roundtable on Friday and he devoted his inaugural speech to assuring the industry that he will continue to remake securities policy to favor digital assets innovation.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 3.0 per cent to $87.24, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 2.7 per cent to $0.1862, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.3 per cent to $94,687.84, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $1,797.51, Cardano (ADA) improved by 0.9 per cent to $0.7235, and Ripple (XRP) gained 0.6 per cent to close at $2.20.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $151.64, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.8 per cent to sell for $602.89, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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