Economy
Elections Uncertainty May Weigh on US Stocks
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to move to the downside following the mixed performance seen in the previous session.
The downward momentum on Wall Street comes amid uncertainty about the outcome of today?s highly anticipated midterm elections.
The elections will decide control of both the House and Senate and could have a major impact on President Donald Trump?s ability to enact his pro-business agenda.
Democrats are seen with an easier path to retaking the House than the Senate but could still be a significant thorn in Trump?s side with control of just the lower chamber.
Traders may be reluctant to make any significant moves, as the outcome of the elections may not be known until tomorrow morning.
Stocks moved in opposite directions during trading on Monday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 adding to last week’s strong gains but the tech-heavy Nasdaq extending the sharp pullback seen last Friday.
The major averages ended the day mixed, as the Nasdaq climbed off its worst levels but still closed down 28.14 points or 0.4 percent at 7,328.85. The Dow advanced 190.87 points or 0.8 percent to 25,461.70 and the S&P 500 climbed 15.25 points or 0.6 percent to 2,738.31.
A notable drop by Apple (AAPL) weighed on the Nasdaq, with the tech giant slumping by 2.8 percent to a three-month closing low.
Apple extended the sell-off seen in the previous session after a report from Japan’s Nikkei newspaper said demand for the company’s iPhone XR appears to be disappointing.
Online retail giant Amazon (AMZN) also came under pressure after President Donald Trump told Axios his administration is looking into antitrust violations by the company.
Overall trading was somewhat subdued, however, with traders reluctant to make significant moves ahead of Tuesday’s highly anticipated midterm elections, which will decide control of both the House and Senate.
Democrats are seen as having a much better chance to claim a majority in the House than in the Senate, but controlling the lower chamber would still allow Democrats to hinder Trump’s agenda.
The Federal Reserve’s looming monetary policy announcement also kept some traders on the sidelines, with the Fed due to announce is latest decision on Thursday.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will keep a close eye on the accompanying statement for clues about an expected rate hike in December.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing a modest slowdown in the pace of growth in the service sector in the month of October.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index dipped to 60.3 in October after climbing to 61.6 in September, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to drop to 59.3.
Last month, the ISM said the non-manufacturing index unexpectedly rose in September, reaching its highest level since the inception of the composite index in 2008.
Natural gas stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index up by 4 percent. With the jump, the index climbed further off the more than two-year closing low set last Monday.
The rally by natural gas stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the commodity, with natural gas for December delivery surging up $0.283 to $3.567 per million BTUs.
Significant strength was also visible among tobacco stocks, as reflected by the 3 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index.
Oil and oil service, pharmaceutical, commercial real estate and utilities stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while semiconductor stocks moved to the downside.
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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