Economy
Wall Street Opens Lower on Trade Deal Uncertainty
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Monday, with stocks likely to give back ground following the rally seen over the three previous sessions.
Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street, as traders cash in on the recent gains amid renewed uncertainty about a trade deal with China.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the U.S. and China have reached a ?very substantial phase one deal,? although reports this morning suggest China wants another round of talks before signing the agreement.
A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News that China may send a delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He to finalize a written deal that could be signed at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next month in Chile.
Another person told Bloomberg China wants Trump to also scrap a planned tariff hike in December in addition to the hike scheduled for this week.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as the Columbus Day holiday may keep some traders away from their desks.
Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session on Friday, extending the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions. With the rally over the past few sessions, the major averages more than offset the steep drop seen on Monday and Tuesday.
The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but remained firmly positive. The Dow jumped 319.92 points or 1.2 percent to 26,816.59, the Nasdaq spiked 106.26 points or 1.3 percent to 8,057.04 and the S&P 500 surged up 32.14 points or 1.1 percent to 2,970.27.
For the week, the Dow and the Nasdaq both advanced by 0.9 percent, while the S&P 500 climbed by 0.6 percent.
The rally on Wall Street came as traders expressed continued optimism about U.S.-China trade talks, with Trump announcing late in the trading day that the two economic superpowers have reached a “very substantial phase one deal.”
Trump said the deal includes up to $40 to $50 billion in Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products as well as Chinese concessions on intellectual property and financial services.
In exchange for the concessions by China, the U.S. has agreed to hold off on an increase in tariffs originally scheduled for next week.
Trump said the agreement would take about three weeks to write and would likely be signed by both sides by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile in November.
“Phase two will start almost immediately” after the first phase is signed, Trump said in an Oval Office meeting with China’s lead negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He.
Stocks spiked early in the session as Trump made upbeat comments about the negotiations on Twitter, tweeting, “Good things are happening at China Trade Talk Meeting. Warmer feelings than in recent past, more like the Old Days.”
Trump noted in a subsequent tweet that a potential trade deal with China would not have to go through the “very long and politically complex Congressional Approval Process.”
Oil service stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 4.7 percent. The rally by oil service stocks came amid a jump by the price of crude oil.
Optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal also contributed to significant strength among steel stocks, as reflected by the 3.9 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.
Semiconductor, transportation, chemical, and financial stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, reflecting broad based buying interest.
Meanwhile, gold stocks were among the few groups that bucked the uptrend, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunging by 4.6 percent. The sell-off by gold stocks came amid a steep drop by 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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