Economy
Futures Pointing to Roughly Flat Open on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major US index futures are pointing to a roughly flat on Tuesday following the strength seen in the previous session. Traders may be reluctant to make any significant moves following the upward move on Monday, which lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.
Another light day on the U.S. economic front may also keep traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of reports on new and existing home sales and leading economic indicators in the coming days.
Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday following the mixed performance seen last week. With the upward move on the day, the Dow and the S&P 500 both climbed to new record closing highs.
The major averages ended the session just off their best levels of the day. The Dow climbed 144.71 points or 0.7 percent to 21,528.99, the Nasdaq surged up 87.25 points or 1.4 percent to 6,239.01 and the S&P 500 advanced 20.31 points or 0.8 percent to 2,453.46.
The buying interest on Wall Street was partly in reaction to strength in the overseas markets, which benefited from political news out of Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s party won a clear parliamentary majority in Sunday’s election, giving him a strong mandate in parliament to pursue his pro-European Union, business-friendly reform plans.
Additionally, Brexit negotiations with the EU have begun after Britain bowed to pressure for a formal opening to their long-awaited negotiations rather than first holding technical talks between civil servants.
Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data kept some traders on the sidelines.
The economic calendar for the week remains relatively quiet, although traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on new and existing home sales and leading economic indicators.
Meanwhile, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley predicted that inflation would gradually rise as a tight labor market leads to higher wages.
“Inflation is a little lower than what we would like, but we think that if the labor market continues to tighten, wages will gradually pick up and with that, inflation will gradually get back to 2 percent,” Dudley said.
The comments from Dudley came after the Fed’s widely expected to decision to raise interest rates by a quarter point last week.
Biotechnology stocks saw substantial strength on the day, resulting in a 2.2 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. With the spike, the index reached its best closing level in well over a year.
Clovis Oncology (CLVS) led the sector higher after the biopharmaceutical company announced positive late-stage trial data for its ovarian cancer drug.
Significant strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent advance by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Micron (MU) and Integrated Device Technology (IDTI) posted standout gains.
Airline stocks also showed a notable move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 1.8 percent. The index moved higher after closing lower in six out of the seven previous sessions.
Internet, software, and banking stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while natural gas stocks bucked the uptrend.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a bad day for the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, February 23, after it slumped 0.21 per cent at the close of business.
This pullback was influenced by profit-taking by investors in four securities, which overpowered the gains recorded by six others.
According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc dipped N3.79 to sell at N67.21 per unit compared with the previous N71.00 per unit, UBN Property Plc lost 13 Kobo to close at N1.98 per share versus N2.11 per share, Resourcery Plc fell 3 Kobo to 36 Kobo per unit from 39 Kobo per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated 1 Kobo to close at N3.31 per share versus N3.32 per share.
As a result, the bourse’s market capitalisation went down by N5.04 billion to N2.384 trillion from N2.389 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased by 8.42 points to 3,985.90 points from 3,994.32 points.
Business Post reports that NIPCO Plc rose N23.00 to N253.00 per unit from N230.00 per unit, MRS Oil Plc added N14.50 to close at N214.50 per share versus N200.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by N1.85 to N93.40 per unit from N91.55 per unit, NASD Plc soared 40 Kobo to N51.28 per share from N50.88 per share, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc advanced by 12 Kobo to N1.32 per unit from N1.20 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc improved by 6 Kobo to N3.76 per share from N3.70 per share.
As for the trading data, the volume of securities jumped 99.7 per cent to 7.3 million units from 3.7 million units, but the value depleted by 26.8 per cent to N61.8 million from N84.5 million, and the number of deals slipped 7.1 per cent to 39 deals from 42 deals.
At the close of trades, CSCS Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 32.9 million units sold for N1.9 billion, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 120.6 million units valued at N473.4 million, and Resourcery Plc with 1.05 billion units exchanged for N408.7 million.
Resourcery Plc closed the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units worth N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 120.6 million units valued at N473.4 million, and CSCS Plc with 32.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended the first trading session of the week on a positive note after it chalked up 0.66 per cent on Monday.
The gains recorded yesterday were boosted by the 3.42 per cent rise by the insurance sector, the 1.44 per cent surge by the banking index, and the 1.30 per cent leap by the industrial goods counter. They offset the 0.20 per cent loss posted by the energy sector and a 0.11 per cent decline suffered by the consumer goods industry.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) closed higher by 1,273.78 points to 196,263.55 points from 194,989.77 points, and the market capitalisation appreciated by N805 billion to N125.969 trillion from N125.164 trillion.
Business Post observed that investor sentiment turned bearish during the session after Customs Street ended with 34 price losers and 33 price gainers, representing a negative market breadth index.
Fortis Global Insurance gained 10.00 per cent to trade at 66 Kobo, Okomu Oil expanded by 10.00 per cent to N1,605.60, Fidson rose by 9.90 per cent to N95.50, NPF Microfinance Bank rose by 9.89 per cent to N6.89, and Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank jumped 9.84 per cent to N17.30.
On the flip side, The Initiates weakened by 10.00 per cent to N17.55, Deap Capital deflated by 9.97 per cent to N6.86, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank went down by 9.92 per cent to N5.90, Multiverse lost 9.92 per cent to close at N22.70 per cent, and Ellah Lakes shrank by 9.77 per cent to N11.55.
Yesterday, market participants traded 1.3 billion shares worth N31.5 billion in 95,091 compared with the 820.5 million shares valued at N28.3 billion in 63,507 deals last Friday, indicating an increase in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 58.44 per cent, 11.31 per cent, and 49.73 per cent apiece.
Japaul ended the session as the busiest stock after selling 474.0 million units worth N2.0 billion, Chams traded 51.5 million units for N221.3 million, Jaiz Bank exchanged 48.3 million units for N566.9 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 46.3 million units worth N68.8 million, and Mutual Benefits sold 42.5 million units valued at N242.5 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day in the currency market in Nigeria ended bearish for the Naira as its value further weakened against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday by N2.92 or 0.22 per cent to N1,349.24/$1 from the N1,346.32/$1 it was traded last Friday.
Also in the spot market, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling by N6.62 during the trading day to close at N1,821.87/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,815.25/£1, and lost N6.80 on the Euro to settle at N1,591.42/€1, in contrast to the previous rate of N1,584.62/€1.
At the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian Naira crashed against the greenback yesterday by N1 to quote at N1,357/$1 versus the preceding session’s closing value of N1,356/$1, but in the black market, the Naira appreciated by N5 to close at N1,365/$1 compared with the preceding trading day’s N1,370/$1.
The Naira slide came amid renewed pressure as weekly inflows declined, as Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators were unable to purchase Dollars from banks two weeks after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reopened the official FX Market window to them.
It had been expected that BDCs would help to further deflate the parallel market premium, but according to reports, BDC operators had yet to commence FX purchases from commercial banks, two weeks after the apex bank said legitimate agents can access up to $150,000 from the banks.
There were no FX inflows from the CBN during the past week, according to a report by the research department of Coronation Merchant Bank.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the CBN with firepower to support the naira, rose to $48.77 billion as of February 19, 2026.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was in the red as a broader risk-off shift tied to an emerging “AI scare trade” in equities is weighing on crypto markets.
This is leading traders to sell, while the sharp liquidation events that typically attract dip buyers have seen no such move recently, with Bitcoin (BTC) down by 3.2 per cent to $62,901.86.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 2.5 per cent to $1,821.13, Cardano (ADA) slid 1.9 per cent to $0.2571, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 1.9 per cent to $50.45, Solana (SOL) shrank 1.8 per cent to $76.54, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 1.7 per cent to $0.0912, Ripple (XRP) slumped 1.2 per cent to $1.32, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.6 per cent to sell for $589.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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