Economy
US Stocks May Crumble on Rising Treasury Yields
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to move to the downside following the volatility seen in the previous session.
A continued increase in U.S. treasury yields is likely to weigh on the markets as the bond markets reopen following the Columbus Day holiday on Monday.
Upbeat economic data has pushed treasury yields higher in recent sessions, raising concerns the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates more aggressively than previously anticipated.
The ten-year yield has reached its highest levels in well over seven years, while the thirty-year bond yield has climbed to its highest level since 2014.
News the International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for U.S. and Chinese economic growth may also generate some selling pressure on Wall Street.
Citing the ?negative effect of recent tariff actions,? the IMF said economic growth in the U.S. and China is now expected to slow to 2.5 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively, next year.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data may keep some traders on the sidelines.
Stocks saw considerable volatility during trading on Monday, as many traders remained away from their desks amid the Columbus Day holiday. The major averages showed wild swings over the course of the trading session.
Eventually, the major averages ended the day mixed. While the Dow rose 39.73 points or 0.2 percent to 26,486.78, the Nasdaq slid 52.50 points or 0.7 percent to 7,735.95 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.14 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,884.43.
The volatility on Wall Street came on the heels of the notable weakness seen over the final two sessions of the previous week.
A jump in treasury yields contributed to the pullback seen late last week, as traders expressed renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
The yield on the ten-year note reached its highest closing level in over seven years last Friday following the release of the monthly jobs report.
Traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves on Monday, as the bond markets were closed along with banks and federal offices.
The holiday also led to a lack of U.S. economic data, although reports on producer and consumer prices are likely to attract attention in the coming days along with speeches by several Federal Reserve officials.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing the lackluster close by the broader markets.
Tobacco stocks saw substantial strength, however, with the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index spiking by 9.4 percent to a new record closing high.
A Food and Drug Administration crackdown on e-cigarettes has contributed to significant volatility among tobacco stocks over the past couple weeks.
Commercial real estate stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while weakness among biotechnology, computer hardware, and semiconductor stocks contributed to the drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
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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