Economy
Asian Shares Fall as Trump Battles Impeachment Threat
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks fell on Wednesday amid rising fears about the U.S.-China trade war sapping economic growth around the world.
Investors watched for developments in the United States after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump amid allegations he sought Ukraine’s help to smear former Vice President Joe Biden, who is the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
Chinese shares lost ground after Trump delivered a stinging rebuke of China’s trade practices on Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly and added he would not accept a “bad deal” in trade talks with the country.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slumped 29.91 points, or 1 percent, to 2,955.43, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 335.65 points, or 1.3 percent, to 25,945.35.
Japanese markets declined as the safe-haven yen strengthened on worries about escalating trade conflicts and political uncertainty in the U.S. The Nikkei 225 Index ended down 78.69 points, or 0.4 percent, at 22,020.15, while the broader Topix closed 0.2 percent lower at 1,620.08.
Market heavyweight SoftBank fell 2.3 percent, Fanuc lost 3 percent and Fast Retailing gave up 1.2 percent. Energy major Japan Petroleum tumbled 2.7 percent.
On the other hand, drug stocks surged, with Takeda Pharmaceutical, Chughai Pharmaceutical, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma and Eisai Co. rallying 2-5 percent.
In economic news, the Bank of Japan is ready to take additional easing measures if the momentum towards achieving the inflation target is lost, Board Member Takako Masai said today.
Masai said the bank would thoroughly examine risks to overseas economies and carefully assess how those risks affect Japanese economic activity and prices.
Separately, minutes from the Bank of Japan’s July meeting revealed that policymakers discussed the need for the central bank to take a preemptive response to downside risks to the economy and prices.
Australian markets fell amid concerns about the escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 38.70 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,710.10, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 41.90 points, or 0.6 percent, at 6,814.70.
Miners led the losses, with BHP, Fortescue Metals Group and Rio Tinto falling around 2 percent as iron ore prices fell on growth concerns.
Energy majors Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Origin Energy gave up 1-3 percent as oil prices extended losses for the second straight day on worries about falling fuel demand. Beach Energy shares plunged 5.6 percent.
Banks ended on a mixed note, while gold miners Newcrest and Regis Resources climbed 1-2 percent after gold prices rose to a nearly three-week high overnight amid growing calls for Trump’s impeachment.
Meanwhile, Afterpay Touch Group, the buy now, pay later service company, soared 13.3 percent after submitting an external audit report on money laundering to AUSTRAC.
Seoul stocks fell sharply to snap a 13-day winning streak as U.S. lawmakers began a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump over allegations that he abused his presidential powers and sought help from a foreign government to undermine Democratic foe Joe Biden and help his own reelection.
The benchmark Kospi tumbled 27.65 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 2,073.39, dragged down by technology and pharmaceutical stocks. Samsung Electronics, Celltrion and SK Hynix dropped 1-2 percent. LG Chem plunged 6.7 percent on earnings concerns.
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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