Economy
Asian Markets End Mixed as Trump Begins Asian Tour
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off his tour of Asia in Japan over the weekend with tough rhetoric and an anti-corruption crackdown in Saudi Arabia resulted in the arrest of several Saudi princes and ministers, including prominent investor Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 17.37 points or 0.5 percent to 3,389.12 even as banking stocks fell after People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan spelled out his strategy to ward off systematic financial risks.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged down 6.81 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 28,596.80 ahead of Chinese current account, foreign-exchange reserves and consumer inflation data later this week.
Japanese shares ended roughly flat as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend. The Nikkei 225 Index pared early gains to close marginally higher at 22,548.35, while the broader Topix index ended down 0.1 percent at 1,792.66.
Banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group fell over 1 percent after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank would closely monitor the effects of the continued low interest rate environment on the functioning of financial institutions.
SoftBank Group retreated 2.6 percent after the company and T-Mobile US called off their merger talks. Fast Retailing advanced 2.2 percent on reporting an 8.9 percent rise in same-store sales for October. Automaker Mazda Motor slumped 4.3 percent after posting disappointing quarterly results.
In economic news, the latest survey from Nikkei showed that the services sector in Japan expanded at an accelerated pace in October to hit a 26-month high.
Australian shares ended marginally lower as gains in energy stocks were offset by losses in the financial sector after Westpac Banking Corp posted a weaker-than-expected net profit and warned the outlook is becoming more challenging.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index slid 6.10 points or 0.10 percent to 5,953.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended largely unchanged at 6,027.20.
Lender Westpac shed 2.2 percent after announcing its annual results while ANZ shed half a percent after unveiling plans to close its retail banking business in Philippines. Commonwealth dropped half a percent and NAB declined 0.7 percent.
Energy stocks like Oil Search, Origin Energy, Santos and Woodside Petroleum rose between 0.8 percent and 1.3 percent after oil prices hit their highest levels since 2015 amid signs of tightening market conditions.
AGL Energy gained over 1 percent after it agreed to sell its digital metering subsidiary Active Stream to Ausgrid. Orica shares fell nearly 10 percent after the mining explosives maker maintained a cautious outlook for fiscal 2018.
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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