Economy
Asian Stocks Slip on Release of Chinese Inflation Data
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended Tuesday’s session on a mixed note as Chinese inflation data signaled weakness in domestic and overseas demand. Investors also awaited the ECB, Fed and BoJ meetings for fresh clues on the monetary policy outlook.
Chinese shares ended slightly lower after the release of the inflation data. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent to 3,021.20, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended marginally higher at 26,683.68.
Data showed Chinese consumer prices climbed at a steady pace in August, while producer prices declined further on weak demand, signaling deflationary pressures.
Consumer prices rose 2.8 percent year-on-year in August, the same pace of growth as seen in July. Economists had forecast the rate of inflation to slow to 2.7 percent.
Producer prices fell 0.8 percent annually after easing 0.3 percent in the previous month. Prices were expected to drop 0.9 percent.
Japanese shares hit a six-week high as a weak yen and higher bond yields helped lift exporters and financials. The Nikkei 225 Index ended the session up 73.68, points, or 0.4 percent, at 21,392, while the broader Topix closed 0.4 percent higher at 1,557.99.
Automakers Honda Motor, Toyota Motor and Subaru rose 1-2 percent as the safe-haven yen touched a five-week low of 107.46 per dollar. Mazda Motor shares soared 5 percent.
Nissan Motor jumped 3.7 percent on news that CEO Hiroto Saikawa will resign. Banks Mizuho Financial, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rallied 3-4 percent after U.S. government debt yields rose.
Construction machinery makers Komatsu and Hitachi Construction Machinery climbed 3-4 percent.
Meanwhile, Australian markets fell notably, dragged down by technology and healthcare stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 33.90 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,614.10, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 32.10 points, or 0.5 percent, at 6,728.
Tech stocks fell on valuation concerns, with Afterpay Touch Group slumping 4.1 percent and WiseTech Global tumbling 7 percent. In the healthcare sector, Heavyweight drugmaker CSL lost 2.7 percent.
Diversified miner South32 gave up 1.8 percent as copper prices slipped on concerns that China’s factory deflation could hit the global economy via exports.
Graphite miner Syrah Resources plummeted 33.3 percent after the company said it would reduce production in October-December to about 5,000 tons per month. Gold miners Evolution and Newcrest gave up around 4 percent as gold prices hit four-week lows.
On the other hand, Origin Energy, Oil Search, Woodside Petroleum and Santos climbed 2-4 percent, buoyed by a rise in oil prices on optimism that OPEC and other countries may agree to extend production cuts.
Australian business confidence and conditions deteriorated in August, survey results from the National Australia Bank showed today. The business confidence index fell to +1 from +4 in July.
Seoul stocks extended gains for the fifth day running on hopes that new talks between the U.S. and China can lead to progress. Markets were also supported by expectations of a new wave of stimulus by the European Central Bank.
The benchmark Kospi climbed 12.53 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 2,032.08 ahead of the upcoming Chuseok holidays, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.24 per cent on Friday, April 25 after the duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Afriland Properties Plc landed on the losers’ table.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N2.58 to sell at N35.37 per unit compared with the previous day’s N37.95 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 2 Kobo to close at N17.78 per share versus Thursday’s closing value of N17.80 per share.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 10 Kobo during the trading day to sell for N1.80 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.70 per unit. The rise in the price of the stock could not prevent the fall of the bourse yesterday.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went down by N4.64 billion to N1.914 trillion from N1.918 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 7.92 points to 3,269.06 points from 3,276.98 points.
The final trading session of the week ended with a surge of 1,695.8 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 3.7 billion units from the 206.2 milion units transacted in the previous trading day.
Equally, the value of transactions jumped by 2,592.6 per cent to N9.5 billion from N354.1 million on Thursday, and the number of deals decreased by 47.4 per cent to 20 deals from the 38 deals recorded a day earlier.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 259.3 million units worth N456.1 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 15.6 million units worth N598.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.30 per cent fall was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday as a result of profit-taking in the industrial goods sector.
This was mainly caused by sell-offs in Dangote Cement Plc, which released its financial statements for the first quarter of 2025 yesterday.
The cement maker lost 10.00 per cent during the session to trade at N432.00, Regency Alliance lost 8.06 per cent to close at 57 Kobo, VFD Group depreciated by 7.57 per cent to N17.10, Chams declined by 7.27 per cent to N2.04, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crashed by 6.12 per cent to 92 Kobo.
Conversely, International Breweries, Legend Internet, and Ikeja Hotel gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N7.70, N6.82, and N12.10 apiece, Vitafoam Nigeria surged by 9.93 per cent to N44.85, and Eterna rose by 9.92 per cent to N39.90.
The industrial goods index was down by 4.73 per cent on Friday, as the others finished in green territory.
The consumer goods space rose by 2.21 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 1.50 per cent, the energy sector increased by 0.07 per cent, and the commodity industry went up by 0.04 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 321.21 points to 105,753.05 points from 106,074.26 points and the market capitalisation shrank by N202 billion to N66.465 trillion from N66.667 trillion.
The level of activity increased yesterday as the trading volume, value, and number of deals grew by 30.40 per cent, 94.23 per cent, and 17.64 per cent, respectively.
This was because investors transacted 428.1 million shares worth N20.2 billion in 14,284 deals compared with the 328.3 million shares valued at N10.4 billion in traded in 12,142 deals a day earlier.
GTCO led the activity chart with 60.7 million equities sold for N3.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 41.4 million stocks worth N829.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 40.6 million shares valued at N968.3 million, MTN Nigeria sold 33.0 million equities for N8.2 billion, and Zenith Bank transacted 22.9 million stocks worth N1.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its gains against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, April 25 by 0.22 per cent or N3.59 to sell for N1,599.42/$1 compared with the N1,603.01/$1 it was traded in the previous session.
The Nigerian currency also improved its value against the Euro in the official market by N1.36 to close at N1,818.53/€1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,819.89/€1.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N1.90 to wrap the session at N2,130.44/£1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N2,128.50/£1.
At the black market segment, the Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N2 to quote at N1,605/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,607/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, a possible regulatory progress about digital assets in the US spurred buying interest among investors during the trading session.
The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Paul Atkins, was at a crypto roundtable on Friday and he devoted his inaugural speech to assuring the industry that he will continue to remake securities policy to favor digital assets innovation.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 3.0 per cent to $87.24, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 2.7 per cent to $0.1862, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.3 per cent to $94,687.84, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $1,797.51, Cardano (ADA) improved by 0.9 per cent to $0.7235, and Ripple (XRP) gained 0.6 per cent to close at $2.20.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $151.64, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.8 per cent to sell for $602.89, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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