Economy
Ongoing Trade Concerns Weigh on US Stocks
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Monday, with stocks likely to see some further downside following the pullback seen late in the previous session.
Ongoing concerns about the escalating U.S.-China trade dispute are likely to weigh on Wall Street after Google suspended some of its business with Chinese tech giant Huawei.
Google has cut Huawei off from business involving the transfer of hardware, software and technical services, complying with an order by President Donald Trump blocking the sale or transfer of U.S. technology to Huawei.
?We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications,? a Google spokesperson said, noting services such as Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data may keep some traders on the sidelines.
Reports on new and existing home sales and durable goods orders are likely to attract attention in the coming days along with the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.
Stocks showed wild swings over the course of the trading session on Friday before ending the day mostly lower. The major averages recovered from an initial move to the downside only to pull back sharply late in the session.
At the end of the day, the major averages were all firmly in negative territory. The Dow fell 98.68 points or 0.4 percent to 25,764.00, the Nasdaq slumped 81.76 points or 1 percent to 7,816.28 and the S&P 500 dropped 16.79 points or 0.6 percent to 2,859.53.
The major averages also closed lower for the week. The Nasdaq tumbled by 1.3 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 slid by 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.
Reflecting recent market sensitivity to trade-related news, the late-day pullback came on the heels of a CNBC report indicating negotiations between the U.S. and China appear to have stalled.
Citing two sources briefed on the status of trade talks, CNBC said scheduling for the next round of negotiations is “in flux” because it is unclear what the two sides would discuss.
Sources told CNBC discussions regarding scheduling the next round of talks have not taken place since President Donald Trump signed an executive order ramping up scrutiny of Chinese telecom companies.
Lingering concerns about the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China also contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street.
While Trump has sought to blame China for backing out of a nearly completed trade deal, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce claims the U.S. is responsible for serious setbacks in the trade talks.
Commerce Ministry spokesperson Gao Feng accused the Trump administration of “bullying behavior” with a recent increase in tariffs, according to state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua.
“It is regrettable that the U.S. side unilaterally escalated trade disputes, which resulted in severe negotiating setbacks,” Gao said.
He added, “We urge the U.S. side to correct wrongdoings as soon as possible to avoid causing heavier damages to businesses and consumers in both countries and dragging down the global economy.?
However, concerns about trade waned after the Trump administration officially delayed imposing tariffs on imported automobiles and parts for up to six months, confirming media reports from earlier this week.
A White House statement noted Trump has directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to negotiate agreements to address the national security threat posed by auto imports.
On the U.S. economic front, the University of Michigan released a report showing a substantial improvement in consumer sentiment in May, although the data was recorded mostly before trade negotiations with China collapsed.
The preliminary report showed the consumer sentiment index surged up to 102.4 in May from 97.2 in April, reaching its highest level in fifteen years. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 97.5.
Oil service stocks showed a substantial move to the downside over the course of the trading session, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 3.2 percent. The sell-off by oil service stocks came amid a modest decrease by the price of crude oil.
Significant weakness also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Natural gas, oil producer, and networking stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, notable strength was visible among computer hardware stocks.
Shares of Cray Inc. (CRAY) soared 22.5 percent after she supercomputer maker agreed to be acquired by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) for $1.3 billion in cash.
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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