Economy
Pullback on Wall Street Imminent on Renewed Trade Concerns
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to move back to the downside following the rebound seen in the previous session.
Renewed skepticism about a trade deal between the U.S. and China may weigh on the markets following President Donald Trump?s comments in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
In the interview published Monday, Trump told the Journal it was “highly unlikely” he would delay an increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent.
Trump also suggested the U.S. could slap 10 percent tariffs on iPhones and laptops imported from China, likely contributing to a pullback by shares of Apple (AAPL).
The comments from Trump come just days before he is due to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a G20 summit in Argentina later this week.
Trump has previously argued his tough talk on trade has actually helped the U.S. to make deals, including the new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
Stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Monday, regaining ground following the sell-off seen last week. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the session but remained firmly in positive territory.
Going into the close of the trading, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new highs for the session. The Dow surged up 354.29 points or 1.5 percent to 24,640.24, the Nasdaq soared 142.87 points or 2.1 percent to 7,081.85 and the S&P 500 jumped 40.89 points or 1.6 percent to 2,673.45.
The rebound on Wall Street came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels on the heels of the recent weakness.
The drop seen during last Friday’s holiday-shortened session dragged the Dow and the S&P 500 to their lowest closing levels in four and six months, respectively.
A sharp drop in crude oil prices has weighed on the markets recently along with concerns about the global economic outlook.
Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with traders looking ahead to a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.
Trump and Xi are due to meet at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, beginning on Friday, with traders likely to keep a close on eye out for signs of progress on a potential trade deal.
A lack of economic data also kept some traders on the sidelines, although reports on consumer confidence, new home sales, and personal income and spending are likely to attract attention in the coming days.
Traders are also likely to keep an eye on remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as well as the minutes of the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting.
Software stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones Software Index up by 2.7 percent. The index continued to recover after hitting a nearly five-month closing low last Tuesday.
Considerable strength was also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent jump by the KBW Bank Index.
Retail stocks also turned in a strong performance amid positive reports about Black Friday sales, with the Dow Jones Retail Index surging up by 2.3 percent.
Computer hardware, biotechnology, and semiconductor stocks also saw considerable strength, while notable weakness emerged among tobacco and steel stocks.
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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