Economy
Wall Street Opens Flat as Mid-Term Elections, Fed Meeting Draw Nearer
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat open on Monday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction following the strong upward move seen last week.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the highly anticipated midterm elections on U.S., which will decide control of both the House and Senate.
Democrats are seen as having a much better chance to claim a majority in the House than in the Senate, but controlling the lower chamber would still allow Democrats to hinder President Donald Trump?s agenda.
The Federal Reserve?s looming monetary policy announcement may also keep some traders on the sidelines, with the Fed due to announce is latest decision on Thursday.
While the Fed is widely expected to lead interest rates unchanged, traders will keep a close eye on the accompanying statement for clues about an expected rate hike in December.
After moving notably higher for a few sessions, stocks gave back some ground during the trading day on Friday. The major averages initially moved to the upside but pulled back into negative territory as the session progressed.
The major averages ended the day in the red but well off their lows of the session. The Dow fell 109.91 points or 0.4 percent to 25,270.83, the Nasdaq slumped 77.06 points or 1 percent to 7,356.99 and the S&P 500 slid 17.31 points or 0.6 percent to 2,723.06.
Despite the pullback on the day, the major averages moved significantly higher for the week. The Nasdaq surged up by 2.6 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both jumped by 2.4 percent.
The downturn on Wall Street was led by Apple (AAPL), with the tech giant tumbling by 6.6 percent to a nearly three-month closing low.
The steep drop by Apple came after the company reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings and revenues that exceeded estimates but weaker than expected iPhone shipments.
Apple also forecast fiscal first quarter revenues of $89 to $93 billion, with the midpoint below the consensus estimate of $93 billion.
The pullback by the major averages also came as traders digested a closely watched Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in the month of October.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged up by 250,000 jobs in October after rising by a downwardly revised 118,000 jobs in September. Economists had expected an increase of about 190,000 jobs.
The report also said the unemployment rate in October was unchanged from the previous month at 3.7 percent, its lowest level since hitting 3.5 percent in December of 1969.
Average hourly employee earnings rose by $0.05 to $27.30 in October, reflecting a 3.1 percent increase compared to the same month a year ago.
The annual rate of hourly earnings growth accelerated from 2.8 percent in September, reaching the fastest pace since April of 2009.
The upbeat jobs data paints of positive picture for the U.S. economy but also led to renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
“The U.S. jobs market remains incredibly strong and with wages starting to accelerate, domestic price pressures will increase,” said ING Chief International Economist James Knightley.
He added, “This will keep the Federal Reserve on its path of ‘gradual’ interest rate hikes with next week’s FOMC meeting set to signal a December move.”
Traders also kept an eye on conflicting reports about the likelihood of a trade deal between the U.S. and China ahead of meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.
Natural gas stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session, dragging the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index down by 2.1 percent.
Within the natural gas sector, Newfield Exploration (NFX) pulled back sharply after jumping on Thursday after agreeing to be acquired by Encana (ECA) in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $5.5 billion.
Significant weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index gave back ground after moving notably higher over the past few sessions.
Oil stocks also moved notably lower amid a continued decrease by the price of crude oil. Pharmaceutical and commercial real estate stocks also moved to the downside on the day, while telecom and steel stocks saw considerable strength.
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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