Economy
M&A News Generates Early Buying Interest on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Monday following the modest pullback seen last week.
The markets may benefit from continued optimism about a U.S.-China trade agreement after a tabloid run by China?s ruling Communist Party discounted ?negative? media reports and said the economic superpowers are ?very close? to a phase one deal.
China also remains committed to continuing talks for a phase two or even a phase three deal with the United States, the state-backed Global Times said on Twitter.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have also recently made positive comments about a potential trade deal despite reports of complications arising that could delay the agreement until next year.
News on the merger-and-acquisition front may also generate positive sentiment, as the deals suggest companies remain confident even with the uncertainty created by the U.S.-China trade dispute.
Nonetheless, overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.
A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of reports on new home sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending in the coming days.
After moving mostly lower over the past few sessions, stocks turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Friday. The major averages showed a lack of direction but managed to end the session modestly higher.
The Dow rose 109.33 points or 0.4 percent to 27,875.62, the Nasdaq edged up 13.67 points or 0.2 percent to 8,519.88 and the S&P 500 inched up 6.75 points or 0.2 percent to 3,110.29.
Despite the gains on the day, the major averages all moved lower for the week. The Dow fell by 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 dipped by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
The choppy trading on the day came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid lingering uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade deal.
Recent reports have suggested the signing of a phase one trade deal could be delayed until next year as U.S. and Chinese officials struggle to reach agreement on core issues.
The next round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods is set to take effect on December 15th, potentially complicating efforts to reach an agreement.
In remarks at Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China wants to work toward a phase one agreement on the basis of mutual respect and equality but will fight back if necessary.
Xi met with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the forum, reportedly describing U.S.-China relations as being at a critical juncture
“China and the United States should step up communication on strategic concerns to avoid misjudgment and enhance mutual understanding,” Xi told Kissinger, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News this morning that a trade agreement with China is “very close” and that the two economic superpowers have a “very good chance to make a deal.”
Traders largely shrugged off a report from the University of Michigan showing a much bigger than expected upward revision to its reading on U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of November.
The report said the consumer sentiment index for November was upwardly revised to 96.8 from the preliminary reading of 95.7. The revised reading is well above the final October reading of 95.5.
Steel stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 2.1 percent.
Significant strength also emerged among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index.
The strength in the natural gas sector came amid a substantial increase by the price of the commodity, as natural gas for December delivery jumped $0.098 or 3.8 percent to $2.665 per million BTUs.
Banking and transportation stocks also moved to the upside on the day, while notable weakness among computer hardware stocks led to a 1.5 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
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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