Economy
Losses by Tech Stocks Drift Asian Markets Lower
By Investors Hub
Asian markets drifted lower on Friday, led by losses in technology stocks amid falling demand for smartphones and a downward revision in revenue target by the world’s largest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor.
Japanese stocks ended slightly lower, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index edging down by 28.94 points or 0.1 percent to 22,162.24.
In economic news, overall consumer prices in Japan were up 1.1 percent year-over-year in March, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed. That was in line with expectations and down from 1.5 percent in February.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, gained an annual 0.9 percent, again matching forecasts and down from 1.0 percent in the previous month. On a monthly basis, overall inflation fell 0.4 percent and core CPI was down 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, Japan’s tertiary industry activity showed no variations in February, in line with expectations, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. On a monthly basis, the tertiary industry activity index remained flat in February after a 0.4 percent decrease in January.
In the Australian market, shares from the telecom and utility sectors trended lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index ended down 12.20 points or 0.2 percent at 5,868.80. The broader All Ordinaries Index declined 12 points or 0.2 percent to 5,964.40.
G8 Education, the biggest loser in the benchmark index, slumped 7.2 percent. Evolution Mining, Independence Group, Eclipx Group, NB Holdings, JB Hi-Fi and TPG Telecom ended lower by 2 to 5 percent.
Among big four banks, ANZ Bank and Westpac ended flat, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Bank of Queensland ended lower by 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
Chinese stocks ended notably lower, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 45.90 points or 1.5 percent to 3,071.47 1due largely to heavy selling in telecom and software stocks. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 290.11 points or 0.9 percent to 30,418.33.
Shares of China Huarong Asset Management Co., the country’s biggest bad debt manager, plunged about 11 percent after the company’s chairman Lai Xiaomin stepped down amid an investigation into alleged corruption.
AAC Technologies and Sunny Optical Technologies tumbled 8.1 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Lenovo Group, China Petroleum and Hengen International Group lost 2.5 to 4 percent.
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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