Economy
Geopolitical Uncertainty May Lead to Choppy Trading
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Wednesday following the sharp pullback seen in the previous session.
Geopolitical uncertainty may keep some traders on the sidelines after North Korea threatened to cancel an historic meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.
In a statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, North Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan suggested that Trump must accept the reclusive communist country as a nuclear power.
?If the U.S. is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue and cannot but reconsider our proceeding to the DPRK-U.S. summit,? Kim said.
Kim pointed to ?unbridled remarks? by U.S. officials such as National Security Adviser John Bolton calling on North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons first and be compensated afterward.
The statement from Kim comes after North Korea canceled high-level talks with South Korea planned for Wednesday over U.S.-South Korean military drills.
Despite the threats, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told Fox News that Trump remains ?ready to meet? with the North Korean leader.
After ending Monday?s trading modestly higher, stocks showed a significant move back to the downside during trading on Tuesday. The major averages pulled back sharply in morning trading and remained firmly negative throughout the afternoon.
The major averages regained some ground going into the close but still ended the day notably lower. Dow slumped 193.00 points or 0.8 percent to 24,706.41, the Nasdaq fell 59.69 points or 0.8 percent to 7,351.63 and the S&P 500 slid 18.68 points or 0.7 percent to 2,711.45.
Profit taking may have contributed to the weakness on Wall Street following a recent upward trend. The modest gains posted on Monday lifted the major averages to their best closing levels in two months.
Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to react to earnings news from home improvement retailer Home Depot (HD).
Shares of Home Depot moved notably lower after the company reported first quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but weaker than expected sales.
Traders were also reacting to a jump in U.S. treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note surging up to its highest levels since 2011.
The increase in treasury yields came after a report from the Commerce Department showed retail sales increased in line with economist estimates in the month of April.
The Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.3 percent in April after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8 percent in March.
Economists had expected sales to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding a modest increase in auto sales, retail sales still rose by 0.3 percent in April following an upwardly revised 0.4 percent increase in March.
Ex-auto sales have been expected to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
A separate report from the National Association of Home Builders showed an unexpected improvement in homebuilder confidence in the month of May.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 70 in May from a downwardly revised 68 in April. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged compared to the 69 originally reported for the previous month.
Housing stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session, as concerns about the impact of higher interest rates overshadowed the upbeat homebuilder confidence data.
Reflecting the weakness in the housing sector, the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index plunged by 2.6 percent on the day.
Substantial weakness was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in a month.
The weakness in the gold sector came amid a sharp decline by the price of the precious metal, with gold for June delivery plummeting $27.90 to $1,290.30 an ounce.
Real estate, healthcare, telecom, and semiconductor stocks also moved significantly lower, reflecting broad based weakness on Wall Street.
Economy
NGX Group’s 65th Annual General Meeting Holds April 29
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc has been fixed for Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 11:00 am at its corporate head office on 2–4 Customs Street, Lagos.
Business Post gathered that the meeting would be streamed live on the company’s website and social media platforms to enable broader participation by shareholders and stakeholders unable to attend physically.
As part of a special business, shareholders will consider a proposed bonus issue of one new ordinary share for every three existing shares held as at the close of business on April 10, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The proposal also includes an increase in the organisation’s share capital from N1,102,309,954 to N1,469,746,605, to accommodate the bonus shares and amendments to the Memorandum of Association to reflect the new capital structure.
Also at the gathering, shareholders will consider and, if deemed fit, approve the company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, alongside the reports of the directors, auditors, board evaluation consultants, and audit committee.
The meeting will also deliberate on the declaration of a final dividend and the re-election of three non-executive directors retiring by rotation, who are Mr Umaru Kwairanga, Mrs Ojinika Olaghere, and Dr Okechukwu Itanyi.
Other ordinary business items on the agenda include authorising the board to fix the remuneration of the external auditors, determining the remuneration of managers, and electing members of the statutory audit committee.
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.
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