Economy
Asian Stocks Close Mixed Amid US-Mexico Tariff Stalemate
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday after the U.S. and Mexico failed to reach a deal during their tariff talks on Wednesday.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index ended down 33.62 points or 1.2 percent at 2,827.80 after the International Monetary Fund cut China’s growth forecast for this year and next, citing downside risks and high uncertainty surrounding trade tensions.
The lender lowered the growth forecast for this year to 6.2 percent from the 6.3 percent seen in April. The projection for next year was trimmed to 6 percent from 6.1 percent.
The IMF added it expects China’s growth to gradually slow to 5.5 percent by 2024, as the economy moves towards a more sustainable growth path.
Meanwhile, stocks in Hong Kong showed a modest move to the upside, with the Hang Seng Index rising 69.84 points or 0.3 percent to 26,965.28.
Japanese shares ended roughly flat amid trade uncertainties after the U.S. and Mexico failed to reach a deal on immigration issues. The Nikkei 225 Index fluctuated before finishing marginally lower at 20,774.04. The broader Topix closed 0.3 percent lower at 1,524.91.
Exporters Panasonic, Sony and Honda Motor fell 1-2 percent as the yen hit a five-month high after the release of weak private jobs data from the U.S.
Nissan Motor declined 1.7 percent and Mitsubishi Motors plunged 5.9 percent as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV abruptly withdrew its offer to combine with Renault SA, the alliance partner of the two Japanese firms.
Murata Manufacturing, TDK and Taiyo Yuden lost 3-5 percent amid uncertainties over the global trade environment.
On the other hand, Rakuten soared 4.7 percent after the e-commerce company announced a tie-up with East Japan Railway on cashless services.
Australian stocks gained ground as financials extended gains for a third straight session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 24.50 points or 0.4 percent to 6,383.00, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 22.80 points or 0.4 percent at 6,466.40.
The big four banks rose between 0.4 percent and 0.8 percent on expectations the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut its official interest rate to a record low will improve housing affordability.
Bank of Queensland gained 1 percent after appointing George Frazis, outgoing head of consumer banking at Westpac, as its chief executive and managing director.
Santos gained over 1 percent after confirming a major oil and gas resource at its Dorado-2 appraisal well in Western Australia.
Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Origin Energy edged lower as U.S. oil prices plunged back into a bear market. Miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group dropped 1-3 percent after copper weakened to a five-month low.
In economic news, Australia’s trade surplus unexpectedly dipped to A$4.87 billion in April from A$4.88 billion in March on higher imports, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.
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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