Economy
European Markets Rise as Spanish Stocks Fall Amid Political Tumour
By Investors Hub
European markets were mostly higher on Monday even as Spanish stocks fell amid a political crisis after Catalans voted in favour of independence in a contested referendum, plunging the EU into a new crisis.
The euro moved lower against the dollar after the violence-marred independence vote in Spain’s Catalonia region.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.3 percent at 389.27 in late opening deals, with upbeat data from China, Japan and the euro zone supporting underlying sentiment.
Official data released over the weekend showed activity in China’s vast manufacturing sector grew at the fastest pace since 2012 in September, helping ease growth worries ahead of an upcoming political meeting next month.
Separately, Tankan survey results showed that Japanese business confidence among large manufacturers improved in the third quarter to the highest in a decade.
Closer home, final data from IHS Markit showed today that the euro area manufacturing sector grew the most in over six-and-a-half years in September.
The final manufacturing PMI climbed to a 79-month high of 58.1 from 57.4 in August, suggesting expansion for the fifty-first month in a row.
Investors shrugged off data from IHS Markit, which showed that the U.K. manufacturing sector continued to expand in September, albeit at a slower pace compared to August.
The German DAX was up 0.3 percent and France’s CAC 40 was marginally higher, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up as much as 0.6 percent, led by housebuilders and airline stocks. Spain’s IBEX was tumbling 1.4 percent, dragged down by banks with CaixaBank and Sabadell losing 4-6 percent.
Miners Antofagasta, Anglo American, Glencore, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto gained 1-2 percent as copper futures edged up after upbeat economic data from China and Japan.
Shares of easyJet rallied 4.2 percent, Ryanair Holdings jumped 2.5 percent and Lufthansa climbed 3.2 percent after Monarch Airlines had been placed into administration.
British housebuilder Barratt Developments advanced 3.6 percent on expectations that the government will extend the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme to stimulate the demand side of the housing market.
French ballpoint pens and razors maker BIC slumped 9.3 percent after cutting its 2017 sales forecast.
Building materials group CRH lost over 1 percent on a Bloomberg report that it is nearing an agreement to acquire Florida-based cement company Suwannee American Cement LLC from Votorantim Cimentos SA and Anderson Columbia Co.
Daily Mail and General Trust declined 2 percent. The newspapers publisher expects its full-year pretax profit to be at the lower end of market 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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