Economy
US Stocks Open Higher to Reverse Last Week’s Weakness
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Monday following the weakness seen last week.
Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Friday, extending the lackluster performance seen in the previous session. While the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 remained confined to negative territory, the Dow spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the session mixed. The Dow inched up 1.11 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 24,715.09, but the Nasdaq fell 28.13 points or 0.4 percent to 7,354.34 and the S&P 500 dipped 7.16 points or 0.3 percent to 2,712.97.
For the week, the major averages all moved to the downside. The Nasdaq slid by 0.7 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both dropped by 0.5 percent.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves amid a quiet day on the U.S. economic front.
Uncertainty about the outcome of the second round of trade talks between the U.S. and China also kept some traders on the sidelines.
Various news outlets said China had offered to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S. by $200 billion, although Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang quickly denied the reports.
“This rumor is not true. This, I can confirm,” Lu told reporters. “I do not know about the offers made by either party.”
He added, “As we know the consultations are still underway. I am not getting ahead of that. The consultations themselves are constructive.”
On Thursday, President Donald Trump expressed some doubt about whether the high-level trade talks with China will be successful.
Trump told reporters he tends to doubt the talks will be successful in remarks during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“The reason I doubt it is because China has become very spoiled,” Trump said. “The European Union has become very spoiled. Other countries have become very spoiled, because they always got 100 percent of whatever they wanted from the United States.”
However, Trump also claimed he would not allow the U.S. to be taken advantage of anymore and sounded more optimistic in later remarks.
“I can only tell you this; we’re going to come out fine with China,” Trump said. “Hopefully, China’s going to be happy. I think we will be happy.”
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.
Steel gas stocks saw significant weakness, however, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index slumping by 1.5 percent. The index pulled back further off the nearly three-month closing high set on Wednesday.
Considerable weakness was also visible among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index. The drop by the index came after it ended the previous session at its best closing level in almost two months.
The pullback by natural gas stocks came amid a decrease by the price of the commodity, as natural gas for June delivery dipped $0.012 to $2.847 per million BTUs.
Semiconductor, banking, and computer hardware stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while housing stocks showed a strong move to the upside.
Economy
NGX Group’s 65th Annual General Meeting Holds April 29
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc has been fixed for Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 11:00 am at its corporate head office on 2–4 Customs Street, Lagos.
Business Post gathered that the meeting would be streamed live on the company’s website and social media platforms to enable broader participation by shareholders and stakeholders unable to attend physically.
As part of a special business, shareholders will consider a proposed bonus issue of one new ordinary share for every three existing shares held as at the close of business on April 10, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The proposal also includes an increase in the organisation’s share capital from N1,102,309,954 to N1,469,746,605, to accommodate the bonus shares and amendments to the Memorandum of Association to reflect the new capital structure.
Also at the gathering, shareholders will consider and, if deemed fit, approve the company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, alongside the reports of the directors, auditors, board evaluation consultants, and audit committee.
The meeting will also deliberate on the declaration of a final dividend and the re-election of three non-executive directors retiring by rotation, who are Mr Umaru Kwairanga, Mrs Ojinika Olaghere, and Dr Okechukwu Itanyi.
Other ordinary business items on the agenda include authorising the board to fix the remuneration of the external auditors, determining the remuneration of managers, and electing members of the statutory audit committee.
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.
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