Economy
Trade Talks 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 see further downside after coming under pressure late in the previous session.
The downwardly momentum on Wall Street comes as traders are keeping a close eye on trade talks between the U.S. and China.
The U.S. delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected to raise concerns with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He about a number of China’s trade practices.
In a post to Twitter, President Donald Trump said, ?Our great financial team is in China trying to negotiate a level playing field on trade!?
?I look forward to being with President Xi in the not too distant future,? he added. ?We will always have a good (great) relationship!?
Stocks came under pressure in late-day trading on Wednesday following the Federal Reserve’s announcement of its latest monetary policy decision. The major averages pulled back firmly into negative territory, with the Dow falling to its lowest closing level in a month.
The major averages ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Dow slumped 174.07 points or 0.7 percent to 23,924.98, the Nasdaq fell 29.81 points or 0.4 percent to 7,100.90 and the S&P 500 slid 19.13 points or 0.7 percent to 2,635.67.
The sharp decline seen late in the session came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1.5 to 1.75 percent.
Selling pressure may have been generated by the Fed’s comments about inflation, which signaled that an interest rate hike is likely in June.
Economists pointed to a comment from the Fed indicating that the annual rate of inflation is expected to run near its symmetric 2 percent objective over the medium term.
The Fed also said risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced and reiterated its expectation that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant further gradual increases in interest rates.
“Officials remain on course to raise rates again in June and we expect two further 25bp rate hikes in the second half of this year,” said Andrew Hunter, U.S. Economist at Capital Economics.
The release of the Fed statement overshadowed the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment increased by slightly more than anticipated in the month of April.
ADP said private sector employment surged up by 204,000 jobs in April after spiking by a revised 228,000 jobs in March.
Economists had expected private sector employment to shoot up by about 200,000 jobs compared to the jump of 241,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
“Despite rising trade tensions, more volatile financial markets, and poor weather, businesses are adding a robust more than 200,000 jobs per month,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics.
He added, “At this pace, unemployment will soon be in the threes, which is rarified and risky territory, as the economy threatens to overheat.”
While the broader markets came under pressure, Apple (AAPL) held on to a strong gain after the tech giant reported fiscal second quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Apple also said its board approved a new $100 billion share repurchase authorization and a 16 percent increase in its quarterly dividend.
Telecom stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Telecom Index down by 1.6 percent. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in six months.
Within the telecom sector, T-Mobile (TMUS) posted a steep loss despite the wireless carrier reporting better than expected first quarter results.
Considerable weakness was also visible among pharmaceutical stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index. The index fell to a one-month closing low.
Biotechnology and transportation stocks also saw notable weakness, while some strength was visible among oil service and gold 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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