Economy
Asian Stocks Rise as Trading Activities Remain Slow
By investors Hub
Asian stocks rose on Thursday as investors brushed aside concerns that the Federal Reserve could move more quickly to raise interest rates to tame inflation. Trading activity remained relatively thin across the region as some of the markets were closed for public holidays.
Markets in Taiwan and China were closed for the Lunar New Year holidays, while the South Korean markets were closed for Seollal Day.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended a shortened trading day nearly 2 percent higher at 31,115.43, led by financials and information technology stocks.
Japanese shares posted solid gains following three consecutive days of losses that took the Nikkei 225 Index to a four-month low on Wednesday.
The Nikkei 225 Index closed 310.81 points or 1.5 percent higher at 21,464.98 despite a firmer yen and the release of mixed industrial output and core machinery orders data. The broader Topix Index climbed 1 percent to 1,719.27.
Japan’s industrial production grew more than initially estimated in December, while core machinery orders tumbled 11.9 percent from the previous month, separate reports showed.
Exporter Tokyo Electron climbed 4.6 percent, Honda Motor rose 1.3 percent and Sony added 1.9 percent despite the greenback extending its losing streak against the yen.
Lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial advanced 1.8 percent and insurer Dai-ichi Life Holdings jumped 5 percent. Oil majors Inpex and Japan Petroleum gained 1-2 percent after crude oil prices rose overnight.
Australian shares rallied, led by miners and energy producers after Dalian iron ore prices hit a three week high and crude oil futures nudged back above $60 a barrel on dollar weakness and data showing a smaller than expected increase in U.S. crude inventories.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index jumped 67.80 points or 1.2 percent to close at 5,909, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 68.70 points or 1.2 percent at 6,008.70.
Miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group climbed 4-6 percent, and energy majors Santos, Oil Search and Beach Energy jumped 2-6 percent.
Origin Energy soared 6.9 percent after the company narrowed its first-half net loss. Gold miner Evolution Mining rallied 2.2 percent after raising its interim dividend.
Meanwhile, financial services giant Suncorp Group dropped 2.4 percent after its first-half profit declined almost 16 percent from last year on a surge in natural hazard costs and lower revenues.
On the economic front, official data showed that the number of jobs in Australia increased by 16,000 last month to beat forecasts, while the jobless rate stood at 5.5 percent, matching expectations.
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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