Economy
US Stocks May Move Back to Upside in Early Trading
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Monday following the sell-off seen in the previous session.
Traders may look to pick up stocks at reduced levels despite lingering concerns about a potential trade war between the U.S. and China.
Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session on Friday, as trade war concerns once again resurfaced. After closing higher for three straight days, the major averages showed a substantial move back to the downside.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but still ended the day firmly in the red. The Dow plummeted 572.46 points or 2.3 percent to 23,932.76, the Nasdaq dove 161.44 to 6,915.11 and the S&P 500 plunged 58.37 points or 2.2 percent to 2,604.47.
With the sharp pullback on the day, the major averages closed lower for the week. The Nasdaq tumbled by 2.1 percent, the S&P 500 slumped by 1.4 percent and the Dow slid by 0.7 percent.
The sell-off on Wall Street came amid renewed trade war concerns after President Donald Trump threatened to impose $100 billion of additional tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump noted in a statement on Thursday that the U.S. Trade Representative recently announced $50 billion in proposed tariffs on imports from China over intellectual-property violations.
China retaliated by announcing plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of U.S. exports, including aircraft, cars, and soybeans, which Trump called an effort to harm U.S. farmers and manufacturers.
“In light of China’s unfair retaliation, I have instructed the USTR to consider whether $100 billion of additional tariffs would be appropriate under section 301 and, if so, to identify the products upon which to impose such tariffs,” Trump said.
He added, “I have also instructed the Secretary of Agriculture, with the support of other members of my Cabinet, to use his broad authority to implement a plan to protect our farmers and agricultural interests.”
Responding to the threat from Trump, the Chinese government declared it would retaliate to new tariffs “with force and without hesitation.”
Negative sentiment was also generated by a report from the Labor Department showing U.S. job growth slowed by much more than anticipated in the month of March.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment rose by 103,000 jobs in March after spiking by an upwardly revised 326,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected an increase of about 193,000 jobs.
The report also said the unemployment rate came in at 4.1 percent in March, unchanged from the five previous months. The unemployment rate had been expected to edge down to 4.0 percent.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the annual rate of growth in average hourly employee earnings accelerated to 2.7 percent in March from 2.6 percent in February.
The major averages saw further downside as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered remarks about the economic outlook at the Economic Club of Chicago.
Powell reiterated the belief that further gradual increases in interest rates will best promote the Fed’s goals of achieving maximum employment and stable prices.
Some traders had apparently been hoping Powell would signal a slower pace of rate hikes due to the recent volatility on Wall Street.
Biotechnology stocks turned in some of the market’s worst performances on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 3.2 percent. With the steep drop, the index tumbled to its lowest closing level in well over three months.
Considerable weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index fell to a nearly two-month closing low.
The renewed trade war concerns also contributed to a sharp pullback by steel stocks, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index slumping by 3 percent after jumping by 2.8 percent on Thursday.
Transportation, financial, chemical, and energy stocks also moved notably lower, reflecting broad based weakness on Wall Street.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of HBM Nigeria Plc (formerly Lafarge Africa), Mr Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, said the cement producer is expected to add 4.5 million tonnes to its production capacity by January 2027.
HBM Nigeria Plc is positioning itself for stronger long-term competitiveness, market leadership and job creation as it accelerates expansion projects.
The transition to HBM Nigeria marks a new phase of growth, driven by operational excellence, sustainability, innovation, and infrastructure development, while maintaining its long-standing commitment to Nigeria’s construction sector.
Mr Alade-Akinyemi, speaking recently in Lagos, said the ongoing expansion of the company’s Ashaka and Sagamu plants would significantly boost local production, create employment opportunities, and support businesses across its value chain.
“We recently announced the expansion of the Sagamu plant in Ogun State and the Ashaka plant in Gombe State. Hopefully, in January 2027, we will commission both plants, adding 4.5 million tonnes to our capacity. Traditionally, building a new plant takes about three years, but this is one of the benefits of belonging to the Huaxin Group,” he said.
According to him, the projects will generate employment, create opportunities for young people and women, strengthen local suppliers and contractors, and contribute further to Nigeria’s economic growth.
“There are many vacancies we are trying to fill in Sagamu and Ashaka. Beyond direct employment, we are creating opportunities for small businesses, developing suppliers and supporting local contractors. This is an exciting period because it will deliver significant benefits to Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Alade-Akinyemi noted that while the company’s corporate identity had changed following its acquisition by Huaxin Building Materials Group, its core values and commitment to customers, host communities, employees and shareholders remain unchanged.
He said HBM Nigeria traces its roots to 1959 as West African Portland Cement Company (WAPCO), with its first cement plant commencing operations in Ewekoro, Ogun State, in 1961.
Since then, he said, the company has grown into one of Nigeria’s leading building solutions providers with integrated plants in Ewekoro, Sagamu, Ashaka and Mfamosing.
He added that the company, which became publicly listed in 1979, has continued to expand through acquisitions and transformation while maintaining high product quality, innovation and responsible operations.
Highlighting the strengths of its parent company, Alade-Akinyemi described Huaxin Building Materials as a globally recognised building materials manufacturer founded in 1907 and headquartered in Wuhan, China, with operations across 16 regions in China and 14 countries worldwide.
He said Huaxin’s engineering expertise and focus on research and development would strengthen HBM Nigeria’s operations and help close engineering skills gaps in the country.
“As HBM Nigeria, we are strategically positioned for long-term competitiveness and stronger market leadership while reinforcing our commitment to supporting Nigeria’s infrastructure development and economic progress after more than six decades of industry leadership,” he said.
He also said sustainability would remain central to the company’s operations, noting that it had introduced lower-carbon products and continued to invest in environmentally friendly production processes.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) distributed about N2.550 trillion from the revenue generated by the nation in June 2026 to the three tiers of government after its July meeting in Abuja.
A statement signed by the Director of Press in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Bawa Mokwa, “The N2.550 trillion total distributable revenue comprised N1.809 trillion in distributable statutory revenue and N740.724 billion in distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue.”
It was gathered that a total gross revenue of N4.500 trillion was available in June 2026, with deductions for the cost of collection amounting to N160.744 billion, and transfers and refunds at N1.789 trillion.
According to a communiqué after the gathering, gross statutory revenue of N3.700 trillion was received in June 2026, N1.049 trillion higher than the N2.651 trillion received in the preceding month, while gross revenue of N799.746 billion was generated from VAT, N56.058 billion higher than the N743.688 billion recorded in May 2026.
It was stated that from the N2.550 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal government received N923.438 billion, the state governments got N838.208 billion, while the local government councils were given N591.390 billion, with N197.610 billion allocated to the benefiting states as 13 per cent of mineral derivation revenue.
From the N1.809 trillion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government went away with N849.366 billion, states shared N430.810 billion, local councils took N332.136 billion, while the benefiting states got N197.610 billion as derivation revenue.
From the N740.724 billion distributable VAT earnings, the central government got N74.072 billion, the states received N407.398 billion, and the local government councils were allocated N259.253 billion.
The communiqué further stated that in June 2026, collections from Companies Income Tax (CIT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Stamp Duties (SDT), Petroleum Royalties, Gas Flare Penalties, Rent, Mineral Oil Royalties (MOR), Value Added Tax (VAT), Import Duty, and Common External Tariff (CET) Levies increased significantly, while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), Mineral Royalties, and Fees declined considerably. Excise Duty recorded only a marginal increase.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
