Economy
North Korea’s Missile Fires Asian Stocks to Danger Zone
Asian stocks fell on Wednesday as weak manufacturing data from the U.S. and the eurozone added to investor worries about slowing global economic growth. Markets were further rattled by North Korea’s firing of what is believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Mainland Chinese markets remained closed for the National Day holiday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 49.58 points, or 0.2 percent, to 26,042.69 after fresh violent demonstrations in the city that saw one protester shot by police.
Japanese shares also fell as weak manufacturing data from the U.S. offered fresh evidence that the U.S.-China trade war is slowing global growth.
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 106.63 points, or 0.5 percent, to 21,778.61, while the broader Topix closed 0.4 percent lower at 1,596.29.
Exporters ended broadly lower as the weak U.S. data weighed on the U.S. dollar and prompted some long-unwinding trade. Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Sony declined 1-2 percent.
Tech stocks closed on a mixed note, with Advantest rising 0.7 percent, while Tokyo Electron dropped 1.1 percent. Market heavyweight SoftBank gave up 2.7 percent.
In economic news, Japanese firms’ inflation expectations held steady in the third quarter, the Tankan summary of “Inflation Outlook of Enterprises” from Bank of Japan showed today. Companies expect annual inflation of 0.9 percent in the year ahead, unchanged from the previous outlook.
Australian markets fell sharply to hit a three-week low as investors fretted over slowing global growth. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index tumbled 102.90 points, or 1.5 percent, to 6,639.90, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended the session down 99.70 points, or 1.5 percent, at 6,753.30.
National Australia Bank lost 2.3 percent after the lender said it would set aside a further A$1.18 billion (S$1.1 billion) to repay wrongly charged customer fees. The other three big banks fell between 1.5 percent and 2.1 percent.
Lower commodity prices pulled down miners, with BHP and Rio Tinto falling 1.9 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. Energy stocks such as Woodside Petroleum and Santos dropped over 1 percent, while Beach Energy slumped 3.2 percent.
Mayne Pharma Group soared 19 percent after it signed a 20-year supply and license agreement with Belgium-based Mithra Pharmaceuticals to commercialize a new contraceptive drug.
Seoul stocks plunged as weak manufacturing data from the U.S. and the eurozone coupled with rising geopolitical tensions sapped investors’ appetite for risk.
After North Korea fired a ballistic missile from the sea, the National Security Council in Seoul expressed “strong concern” over the launch of what it said may have been a submarine-launched ballistic missile.
The Kospi lost 40.51 points, or 2 percent, to finish at 2,031.91. Samsung Electronics declined 2.6 percent, while SK Hynix and Hyundai Motor lost around 3 percent each.
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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