Economy
Asian Stock Markets Surge as Investors React to Korean Peace Move
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks closed broadly higher on the last trading day of the month as tensions on the Korean Peninsula faded and investors digested a slew of earnings releases and economic reports.
The dollar held below three-month highs amid a pullback in Treasury yields and ahead of the Fed’s policy decision and a jobs report due this week, while oil prices slipped as investors waited for signs on whether the U.S. would re-impose sanctions on Iran. Trading volumes remained thin across Asia amid holidays in China and Japan.
Investors shrugged off official data from China showing that the country’s manufacturing sector grew at a slower pace in April. The official manufacturing PMI fell slightly to 51.4 in April from 51.5 in March. However, the non-manufacturing PMI that covers services and construction, improved to 54.8 from 54.6 a month ago.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 527.78 points or 1.7 percent to 30,808.45 after the leaders of North and South Korea vowed “complete denuclearization” and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. has an “obligation” to pursue a diplomatic solution with North Korea.
Australian shares rose as financials and property developers gained ground, offsetting losses in the mining sector on weaker commodity prices.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 29.10 points or 0.5 percent to 5,982.70, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 28.70 points or 0.5 percent at 6,071.60.
Wealth manager AMP rose half a percent following recent heavy losses after its chairwoman resigned amid a widening scandal. ANZ, NAB and Westpac rose between 0.8 percent and 1.3 percent ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy decision on Tuesday.
Realty firm Stockland Corporation rallied 3.2 percent after reaffirming its fiscal year 2017 guidance. Goodman Group Pty advanced 1.2 percent.
Power producer AGL Energy added 1.3 percent after it received a non-binding, highly conditional $250 million offer to acquire the Liddell coal-fired power station.
Miners BHP Billiton and South 32 dropped half a percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, while BlueScope Steel fell over 2 percent to register its biggest intraday percentage loss in nearly four weeks.
Seoul stocks rallied to close near three-month highs after Friday’s summit between the leaders of the two Koreas concluded. The benchmark Kospi climbed 22.98 points or 0.9 percent to finish at 2,515.38, the highest closing level since February 2nd.
South Korean industrial production fell 4.3 percent year-over-year in March, slower than the 6.8 percent decline in February, preliminary data showed. Economists had expected a 1.6 percent drop for the month.
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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