Economy
Trade Concerns, OPEC Uncertainty May Weigh on US Stocks
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to move to the downside following the mixed performance seen in the previous session.
Lingering concerns about the trade dispute between the U.S. and China may weigh on the markets along with uncertainty the outcome of this week?s OPEC meeting.
Saudi Arabia and Russia are reportedly pushing for an increase in oil production, with OPEC expected to announce its decision on output on Friday.
After an initial move to the upside, stocks turned in a somewhat lackluster performance over the course of the trading session on Wednesday. Despite the choppy trading, the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached a new record closing high.
The major averages eventually ended the session mixed. While the Dow edged down 42.41 points or 0.2 percent to 24,657.80, the Nasdaq climbed 55.93 points or 0.7 percent to 7,781.51 and the S&P 500 rose 4.73 points or 0.2 percent to 2,767.32.
The advance by the Nasdaq partly reflected strength among media stocks after Disney (DIS) raised its offer for most of Twenty-First Century Fox’s (FOXA) media assets.
Disney boosted its bid for the Fox assets $7.1 billion to $38 per share, exceeding the offer made by rival Comcast (CMCSA).
On the other hand, notable declines by Travelers (TRV) and McDonald’s (MCD) contributed to the modest loss posted by the Dow.
General Electric (GE) also moved lower on the day following news it will be replaced in the Dow by Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA).
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off concerns about a trade war been the U.S. and China that contributed to weakness on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump has directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to identify $200 billion worth of Chinese goods for additional tariffs at a rate of 10 percent.
Trump said the tariffs will go into effect if China refuses to change its unfair trade practices and insists on going forward with recently announced tariffs.
The president threatened to pursue additional tariffs on another $200 billion worth of goods if China increases its tariffs yet again.
Despite the threat from Trump, China vowed to retaliate with “strong” countermeasures if the U.S. goes ahead with the new tariffs.
On the U.S. economic front, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing an unexpected decrease in existing home sales in the month of May.
NAR said existing home sales fell by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.43 million in May after plunging by 2.7 percent to a downwardly revised 5.45 million in April.
The drop surprised economists, who had expected existing home sales to climb to an annual rate of 5.52 million from the 5.46 million originally reported for the previous month.
Many of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, although significant strength was visible among natural gas stocks.
Reflecting the strength in the natural gas sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index jumped by 1.8 percent to its best closing level in almost five months.
The strength among natural gas stocks came amid an increase by the price of the commodity, with natural gas for July delivery climbing $0.064 to $2,964 per million BTUs.
Biotechnology stocks also showed a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 1.7 percent. With the gain, the index reached a record closing high.
Steel, tobacco, and real estate stocks also moved notably higher on the day, while gold stocks moved lower along with the price of the precious metal.
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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