Economy
Asian Markets Surge as Oil Prices Rebound
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks closed broadly higher on Thursday as oil prices rebounded, Italy’s political turmoil eased and Chinese data topped forecasts.
Italian president Sergio Mattarella granted Italy’s two populist leaders more time to form a government, helping ease worries that another election will essentially be a referendum on the country’s membership in the European Union.
Chinese shares posted strong gains as investors cheered upbeat manufacturing and non-manufacturing data. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index jumped 56.50 points or 1.9 percent to 3,099.94, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged up 411.77 points or 1.4 percent to 30,468.56.
The manufacturing sector in China expanded at a faster rate in May, the National Statistics Bureau said with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.9. That exceeded forecasts for 51.4, which would have been unchanged from the April reading.
The bureau also said that its non-manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 54.9. That also beat expectations for 54.8, which also would have been unchanged.
Japanese shares closed higher on bargain hunting as concerns about Italy’s political turmoil receded. The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 183.30 points or 0.8 percent to finish at 22,201.82 despite a stronger yen. The broader Topix Index rose by 11.32 points or 0.7 percent to 1,747.45.
Japan Petroleum Exploration soared over 5 percent after crude oil prices climbed more than 2 percent overnight. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Toyota Motor and Olympus gained 1-3 percent.
On the data front, industrial production in Japan expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on month in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary reading. That was well shy of forecasts for 1.4 percent, which would have been unchanged from, the March reading.
Another report showed that Japan’s housing starts rose unexpectedly in April.
Housing starts climbed 0.3 percent year-on-year in April, reversing an 8.3 percent drop in March and confounding expectations for a decline of 8.9 percent. This was the first increase in ten months.
Australian shares eked out modest gains, with miners and energy stocks leading the surge. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 27.20 points or 0.5 percent to 6,011.90, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 29.70 points or 0.5 percent at 6,123.50.
Higher base metal prices helped lift miners, with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rising 1.8 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
Energy stocks such as Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Santos jumped 2-3 percent after oil prices rose more than 2 percent overnight despite data showing an unexpected build in U.S. crude stockpiles.
Evolution Mining and Newcrest Mining rose 1-2 percent after gold prices edged higher overnight. Banks and realty stocks ended subdued after data showed Australia’s housing activity slowed in April.
Myob Group shares slumped 8.2 percent after the software developer abandoned an A$180 million bid to acquire the Australian and New Zealand assets of Reckon’s Accountant Group.
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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