Economy
Asian Shares Close Higher on US Job Data Release
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Friday as investors awaited the U.S. jobs report later in the day for clues about the outlook for interest rates. Trading volumes remained light across the region amid a holiday in the U.S. overnight for Independence Day.
The jobs report could determine if the Federal Reserve cuts rates later this month to shore up the world’s largest economy as trade tensions escalate.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 5.81 points or 0.2 percent to 3,011.06, reversing early losses. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended marginally lower at 28,774.83.
Japanese shares rose in choppy trading on hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade talks. The Nikkei 225 Index edged up 43.93 points or 0.2 percent to 21,746.38, while the broader Topix closed 0.2 percent higher at 1,592.58.
Exporters turned in a mixed performance as the yen held little changed versus the dollar. Honda Motor rose over 1 percent and Advantest climbed 1.8 percent, while Canon slipped 0.3 percent and Panasonic declined half a percent.
Mining and oil shares underperformed as crude oil futures fell more than 1 percent on fears of slowing global growth and data showing a smaller than expected decline in U.S. crude stockpiles.
Seven & I Holdings jumped 3.6 percent after the company said it will compensate some 900 customers using its recently launched 7pay mobile payment service who lost a total of 55 million yen due to unauthorized access to their accounts.
The average of household spending in Japan rose an annual 4.0 percent in May, a government report showed today, coming in at 300,901 yen. That beat expectations for an increase of 1.4 percent.
Australian stocks rose notably, although volumes remained thin amid a holiday in the U.S. on Thursday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 33.30 points or 0.5 percent to 6,751.30, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 30.90 points or 0.5 percent at 6,831.80.
Financials and property developers led the surge on expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates further. Banks Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac rose between 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent.
Scentre Group rallied 2 percent and Goodman Group jumped 2.2 percent as the Australian prudential regulator loosened mortgage lending rules.
Mining giant BHP dropped 1.3 percent and Rio Tinto lost 2.1 percent as iron ore prices retreated from a five-year high. Smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group tumbled 4.4 percent.
On the economic front, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed that the construction sector in Australia continued to contract in June, although at a slower rate.
Seoul stocks ended a choppy session largely unchanged amid a lack of positive catalysts. The Kospi inched up 1.86 points or 0.1 percent to finish at 2,110.59.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics shed 0.8 percent after saying it expects its operating profit to tumble 56 percent for the second quarter of this year in the face of a weakening chip market. SK Hynix shares declined 2.6 percent.
Automakers rose, with both Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors rising around 1.8 percent.
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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