Economy
Looming Fed Announcement May Lead to Choppy Trading on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction following the mixed performance seen in the previous session.
Traders are likely to remain reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve?s monetary policy announcement this afternoon.
The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders will keep a close eye on the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.
The looming Fed announcement may overshadow the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by slightly more than anticipated in the month of April.
After seeing weakness throughout much of the session, stocks turned mixed over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. While the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 climbed into positive territory, the Dow remained stuck in the red.
The Dow fell 64.10 points or 0.3 percent to 24,099.05, while the Nasdaq advanced 64.44 points or 0.9 percent to 7,130.70 and the S&P 500 rose 6.75 points or 0.3 percent to 2,654.80.
The mixed closed on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement this afternoon.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq benefited from a notable advance by Apple (AAPL), which climbed by 2.3 percent ahead of the release of its fiscal second quarter results after the close of trading.
On the other hand, a steep drop by Pfizer (PFE) weighed on the Dow, with the drug giant slumping by 3.3 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter earnings but weaker than expected sales.
In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing growth in manufacturing activity slowed by more than anticipated in the month of April.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index dropped to 57.3 in April from 59.3 in March, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had expected the index to dip to 58.3.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department unexpectedly showed a steep drop on construction spending in the month of April.
The Commerce Department said construction spending slump by 1.7 percent to an annual rate of $1.285 trillion in March after jumping by 1.0 percent to a revised rate of $1.306 trillion in February.
Computer hardware stocks showed a significant move to the upside over the course of the trading session, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 2.3 percent.
Notable strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Housing and biotechnology stocks also moved higher on the day, while oil service stocks came under pressure amid a decrease by the price of crude oil.
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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