Economy
Wall Street Risks Early Weakness amid Profit Taking

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Monday following the strength that was seen last week. Profit taking may contribute to early weakness on Wall Street after the upward move last Friday lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to record closing highs.
Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data may keep some traders on the sidelines.
Traders are also reacting to news of pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron’s victory in the French presidential election over the weekend.
After showing a lack of direction in morning trading, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday. With the upward move on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.
The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow rose 55.47 points or 0.3 percent to 21,006.94, the Nasdaq climbed 25.42 points or 0.4 percent to 6,100.76 and the S&P 500 advanced 9.77 points or 0.4 percent to 2,399.29.
For the week, the Dow edged up by 0.3 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 increased by 0.9 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.
The higher close on Wall Street came following the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report, which showed stronger than expected job growth in the month of April.
The report said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 211,000 jobs in April after climbing by a downwardly revised 79,000 jobs in March. Economists had expected employment to increase by 185,000 jobs.
With the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate edged down to 4.4 percent in April from 4.5 percent in March. The unemployment rate had been expected to tick up to 4.6 percent.
The unexpected decrease pulled the unemployment rate down to its lowest level since a matching rate in May of 2007.
The report also said the annual rate of growth in average hourly employee earnings slowed to 2.5 percent in April from 2.6 percent in March.
While the bigger than expected increase in employment paints a positive picture for the economy, the data has reinforced expectations of another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next month.
After falling sharply in the previous session, energy stocks rebounded along with the price of crude oil. Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index spiked by 3.8 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.
Gold stocks also showed a strong move back to the upside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging up by 2.4 percent. The gain by the index came after it slumped by 2.9 percent to a nearly two-month closing low on Thursday.
Significant strength also emerged among chemical stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent advance by the Dow Jones Chemicals Index. The index rebounded after closing lower for seven consecutive sessions.
Telecom, tobacco, and computer hardware stocks also moved notably higher on the day, contributing to the upward move by the broader markets.
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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