Economy
Asian Shares Rise as Investors Peruse Economic Data
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as investors digested a slew of economic data, corporate earnings results and weaker than expected Chinese manufacturing data.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index rallied 34.73 points or 1.4 percent to close at 2,602.78, a day after the country’s securities regulator promised measures to improve market liquidity, encourage share buybacks and mergers and acquisitions. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 394.16 points or 1.6 percent to 24,979.69.
Traders ignored the latest PMI numbers confirming a broad-based decline in Chinese economic activity.
China’s official manufacturing PMI fell to 50.2 in October, the lowest since July of 2016 and down from 50.8 in September, in a sign of further loss of momentum in the world’s second-largest economy.
The services PMI dropped from 54.9 to 53.9, marking the weakest pace of expansion since August of 2017.
On the heels of the disappointing data, the People’s Bank of China weakened the yuan fix to the lowest in more than a decade.
Japanese shares hit a one-week high and the yen edged lower against the dollar after the Bank of Japan left interest rates steady, cut its inflation forecasts and signaled it was a long way off from exiting its massive stimulus program.
Investors shrugged off weak data showing that industrial production in the country fell 1.1 percent in September from the previous month compared to expectations for a decline of 0.3 percent.
The Nikkei 225 Index surged up 463.17 points or 2.2 percent to 21,920.46, while the broader Topix Index closed 2.2 percent higher at 1,646.12.
Chip-related stocks followed their U.S. peers higher, with Tokyo Electron rallying 3.6 percent and TDK Corp spiking 6.1 percent. Advantest shares soared 13 percent. Sony jumped 4.7 percent and Honda Motor surged up 6.5 percent after raising their annual profit forecasts.
Australian markets ended modestly higher, led by banking and energy stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 25.20 points or 0.4 percent to 5830.30 but ended the month down over 6 percent, marking its worst monthly fall since August of 2015. The broader All Ordinaries Index also closed up 0.4 percent at 5,913.30.
The Australian dollar fell slightly after a government report showed inflation rose 0.4 percent sequentially in the third quarter of 2018, below market expectations for a 0.5 percent increase.
ANZ rose over 1 percent after reporting a 5 percent drop in full-year cash profit, hit by remediation costs in the aftermath of the royal commission.
Commonwealth Bank advanced 1.6 percent after it agreed to sell its Colonial First State asset management business to Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp for A$4.13 billion.
QBE Insurance rallied 2.4 percent after it announced a streamlining of its operations.
Oil stocks also closed broadly higher as oil prices rose for the first time in three sessions. Woodside Petroleum climbed 2.3 percent, Origin Energy added 1.7 percent and Oil Search gained 0.8 percent.
Meanwhile, mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto ended marginally lower. Gold miners Evolution and Newcrest also slumped after gold prices settled at a more than one-week low overnight.
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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