Economy
Disappointing Jobs Data Weighs on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to see further downside following the sharp pullback seen over the course of the previous session.
Concerns about the economic outlook may continue to weigh on the markets following the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing a slowdown in the pace of private sector job growth in the month of September.
ADP said private sector employment climbed by 135,000 jobs in September compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 140,000 jobs.
The report also showed a significant downward revision to the increase in private sector jobs in August, which was slashed to 157,000 jobs from the originally reported 195,000 jobs.
?Businesses have turned more cautious in their hiring,? said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody?s Analytics. ?If businesses pull back any further, unemployment will begin to rise.?
Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute, noted the average monthly job growth for the past three months has fallen to 145,000 from 214,000 in the same time period last year.
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.
Employment is expected to increase by 140,000 jobs in September after rising by 130,000 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.7 percent.
After an early move to the upside, stocks showed a significant downturn over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session and firmly into negative territory.
The major averages moved to the downside going into the close, ending the day near their lows of the session. The Dow plunged 343.79 points or 1.3 percent to 26,573.04, the Nasdaq slumped 90.65 points or 1.1 percent to 7,908.68 and the S&P 500 tumbled 36.49 points or 1.2 percent to 2,940.25.
The sharp pullback on Wall Street came following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing a continued contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of September.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index dropped to 47.8 in September from 49.1 in August, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction in manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 50.1.
With the unexpected decrease, the index fell to its lowest level since hitting 46.3 in June of 2009, the last month of the Great Recession.
Timothy Fiore, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, noted the contraction continues six straight months of softening in manufacturing.
“Global trade remains the most significant issue, as demonstrated by the contraction in new export orders that began in July 2019,” Fiore said. “Overall, sentiment this month remains cautious regarding near-term growth.”
The new export orders index slid to 41.0 in September from 43.3 in August, falling to its lowest level since hitting 39.4 in March of 2009.
Economists noted the disappointing data may also reflect the ongoing strike at General Motors (GM), which has also begun to affect production at suppliers.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump blamed the weak manufacturing data on the Federal Reserve, which he blasted as “pathetic” in a post on Twitter.
“As I predicted, Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve have allowed the Dollar to get so strong, especially relative to ALL other currencies, that our manufacturers are being negatively affected. Fed Rate too high. They are their own worst enemies, they don’t have a clue. Pathetic!” Trump tweeted.
Brokerage stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index down by 5.9 percent to its lowest closing level in a month.
Online brokers fell sharply after Charles Schwab (SCHW) announced plans to eliminate online trade commissions for U.S. stocks, exchange traded funds and options as part of an escalating price war.
Considerable weakness also emerged among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 3.4 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The weakness among oil service stocks came amid a decrease by the price of crude oil.
Natural gas, networking, banking and chemical stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
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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