Economy
Asian Shares Rise Amid Disappointing Chinese Data
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks rose on Monday as the European Union agreed to London’s request for a Brexit deadline extension and reports suggested that Washington and Beijing are close to finalizing parts of a trade pact.
U.S. and Chinese officials said they are “close to finalizing” some parts of a phase one trade deal after high-level telephone discussions on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he plans to sign the deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in Chile next month.
Chinese stocks ended on a firmer note amid the apparent headway in U.S.-China trade talks and gains by technology stocks after Beijing pledged more support for the sector.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 25.12 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,980.05, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 223.87 points, or 0.8 percent, to 26,891.26.
Investors shrugged off a government report showing that Chinese industrial profits declined at a faster pace in September as producer prices continued to fall.
Industrial profits decreased 5.3 percent year-on-year after easing 2 percent in August, reflecting a faster drop in industrial product prices and a slower rise in sales.
Japanese shares hit a one-year high amid hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal as soon as next month. The Nikkei 225 Index rose 67.46 points, or 0.3 percent, to 22,867.27, the highest level in a year, while the broader Topix finished little changed at 1,648.43.
Semiconductor-related shares surged after Intel beat third-quarter earnings estimates. Sumco jumped 5.3 percent, Minebea Mitsumi soared 4.5 percent and Advantest added 3.8 percent. Robot manufacturer Fanuc gained 2.1 percent and transport firm Mitsui OSK Lines surged 1.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the Australian markets ended on a flat note. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index and the broader All Ordinaries Index both inched by 1.50 points to close at 6,740.70 and 6,842.50, respectively.
Firm commodity prices helped lift miners, with BHP rising 1.1 percent and Fortescue Metals Group climbing 2.2 percent. Energy stocks ended largely unchanged despite oil prices holding on to last week’s strong gains on expectations of supply cuts by OPEC and falling U.S. inventories.
IOOF Holdings gained 1.2 percent after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission imposed additional license conditions on the wealth manager that include the appointment of vetted independent directors and increased internal monitoring.
Rural Funds Group rallied 2.3 percent after it agreed to sell its network of 17 poultry farms to ProTen Investment Management for a combined A$72 million and reinvest in three cattle properties in Western Australia.
Virgin Australia lost 3.1 percent on fundraising reports. Metals and electronics recycler Sims Metal Management slumped 8.8 percent after forecasting an underlying core earnings loss for the first half.
In economic news, Fitch Ratings has maintained Australia’s sovereign ratings at ‘AAA’ with a stable outlook and said the rating is supported by its flexible policy framework that underpin positive economic growth.
Seoul stocks rose for the third straight day after reports that the U.S. and China are making progress in trade discussions. Hopes for a turnaround in the semiconductor market also underpinned sentiment.
The benchmark Kospi inched up 5.71 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,093.60, closing above the 2,090 mark for the first time since September 24th.
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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