Economy
US Stocks May Move Upside in Early Trading
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Monday, with stocks poised to add to the gains posted last week.
While buying interest was somewhat subdued, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday. The upward move on the day lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.
The major averages all closed in positive territory, although the Dow inched up just 23.89 points or 0.1 percent to 22,405.09. The Nasdaq advanced 42.51 points or 0.7 percent to 6,495.96 and the S&P 500 climbed 9.30 points or 0.4 percent to 2,519.36.
For the week, the Nasdaq jumped by 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 rose by 0.7 percent and the Dow edged up by 0.2 percent.
The higher close on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the Republican tax reform plan and attempt to assess the path forward for the proposal.
A report from Bloomberg News said the vast majority of economists surveyed predicted that the tax reform plan would widen the budget deficit.
The Trump administration has argued that the stronger economic growth spurred by the tax cuts would offset the cost.
In other news, President Donald Trump reportedly met with former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to discuss his potential nomination as the next chair of the central bank.
The meeting, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was also attended by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Warsh is seen as more hawkish than current Fed Chair Janet Yellen and has been a vocal critic of the Fed’s monetary stimulus policies since the financial crisis.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing personal income and spending both rose in line with economist estimates in the month of August.
The Commerce Department said personal income edged up by 0.2 percent in August after rising by a downwardly revised 0.3 percent in July.
Economists had expected income to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
The report said personal spending also inched up by 0.1 percent in August after climbing by an unrevised 0.3 percent in July. The uptick in spending matched expectations.
A separate report from MNI Indicators unexpectedly showed a significant acceleration in the pace of growth in Chicago-area business activity in the month of September.
MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer jumped to 65.2 in September from 58.9 in August, with a reading above 50 indicating growth.
The substantial increase by the business barometer came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to edge down to 58.5.
Many of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, although considerable strength emerged among steel stocks. Reflecting the strength in the steel sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index advanced by 1.1 percent.
Ryerson (RYI) posted a standout gain, jumping by 14.2 percent after providing upbeat third quarter revenue guidance.
Notable strength was also visible among trucking stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Trucking Index. The gain extended a recent upward move by the index, which reached a record closing high.
Biotechnology, housing, and semiconductor stocks also moved to the upside 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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