Economy
US Shares Open Higher on Rally by Chinese Stocks
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher open on Monday, with stocks likely to move to the upside following the mixed performance seen last week.
The upward momentum on Wall Street comes on the heels of a rally by Chinese stocks, which extended the substantial rebound seen last Friday.
Chinese stocks surged higher amid optimism about additional stimulus to stimulate the world?s second largest economy after last week?s disappointing GDP data.
After three top Chinese financial regulators stepped in to bolster investor confidence last Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed ?unwavering? support for the country’s private sector.
In an open letter published in state media, Xi said Beijing would continue to value and protect the country’s private business owners to ensure a ?better tomorrow.?
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data may keep some traders on the sidelines.
After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks turned mixed over the course of the trading session on Friday. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ending the day in negative territory.
While the Dow rose 64.89 points or 0.3 percent to 25,444.34, the Nasdaq fell 36.11 points or 0.5 percent to 7,449.03 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.00 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2.767.78.
The major averages also turned in a mixed performance for the week. The Nasdaq fell by 0.6 percent, while the Dow rose by 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 was nearly flat.
Early buying interest was generated by a rally by Chinese stocks, which rebounded strongly from an initial move to the downside despite disappointing GDP data.
Data showed Chinese GDP climbed an annual 6.5 percent in the third quarter, shy of estimates for 6.6 percent and down from 6.7 percent in the previous quarter.
However, investors reacted positively after three top Chinese financial regulators stepped in to bolster investor confidence.
The heads of the People’s Bank of China, the Securities Regulatory Commission and the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission all issued statements expressing support for the markets.
A positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies such as Procter & Gamble (PG), American Express (AXP) and Honeywell (HON) also contributed to the early strength on Wall Street.
Traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves, however, as concerns about rising interest rates and tension between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia continued to weigh on the markets.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the National Association of Realtors showing a much steeper than expected drop in existing home sales in the month of September.
NAR said existing home sales plunged by 3.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.15 million in September after edging down by 0.2 percent to a revised rate of 5.33 million in August. Economists had expected existing home sales to drop by 0.7 percent.
With the much bigger than expected decrease, existing home sales slumped to their lowest annual rate since November of 2015.
Utilities stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones Utilities Average up by 1.6 percent. With the gain, the average reached its best closing level in ten months.
Notable strength was also visible among telecom stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent advance by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index. The index rebounded following the pullback seen in the previous session, climbing further off the two-month closing low set last Thursday.
On the other hand, biotechnology stocks came under pressure over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 1.8 percent.
Oil stocks also moved to the downside despite an increase by the price of crude oil, moving notably lower along with housing, semiconductor, and networking stocks.
Economy
46 Stocks Gain Weight, 53 Equities Lose on NGX in One Week
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was bullish last week despite investors’ mood swing, triggered by happenings in the country and across the globe, especially the Middle East crisis.
The All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation appreciated week-on-week by 3.94 per cent to 225,722.49 points and N145.335 trillion, respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of the growth and commodity indices, which depreciated by 0.02 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively, while the sovereign bond index closed flat.
A look at the price changes of shares in the five-day trading week showed that
46 stocks gained weight versus 61 stocks of the previous week, 53 equities shed weight compared with 36 equities a week earlier, and 47 shares closed flat, in contrast to 49 shares of the preceding week.
UAC Nigeria led the gainers’ chart after it chalked up 42.00 per cent to trade at N142.00, Union Dicon appreciated by 32.73 per cent to N21.90, NASCON expanded by 32.63 per cent to N206.90, Trans-Nationwide Express rose by 30.58 per cent to N7.90, and Zichis improved by 25.71 per cent to N15.60.
On the flip side, Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank led the losers’ group after it gave up 50.79 per cent to close at N9.35, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 33.33 per cent to N5.40, Guinea Insurance slipped by 15.20 per cent to N1.06, Stanbic IBTC lost 13.82 per cent to settle at N162.50, and Living Trust Mortgage Bank slumped by 10.98 per cent to N3.65.
As for the activity log, Customs Street recorded a turnover of 3.805 billion shares worth N213.955 billion in 297,202 deals in the week compared with 3.588 billion shares valued at N195.313 billion transacted in 254,553 deals in the previous week.
Financial stocks led the activity chart with 2.739 billion units sold for N106.269 billion in 135,101 deals, contributing 71.99 per cent and 49.67 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Services equities traded 212.324 million units worth N4.024 billion in 17,042 deals, and consumer goods shares exchanged 180.076 million units valued at N13.269 billion in 32,457 deals.
Access Holdings, UBA, and First Holdco were the busiest with 814.060 million units traded for N39.032 billion in 37,195 deals, contributing 21.40 per cent and 18.24 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
Economy
NGX Group’s 65th Annual General Meeting Holds April 29
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc has been fixed for Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 11:00 am at its corporate head office on 2–4 Customs Street, Lagos.
Business Post gathered that the meeting would be streamed live on the company’s website and social media platforms to enable broader participation by shareholders and stakeholders unable to attend physically.
As part of a special business, shareholders will consider a proposed bonus issue of one new ordinary share for every three existing shares held as at the close of business on April 10, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The proposal also includes an increase in the organisation’s share capital from N1,102,309,954 to N1,469,746,605, to accommodate the bonus shares and amendments to the Memorandum of Association to reflect the new capital structure.
Also at the gathering, shareholders will consider and, if deemed fit, approve the company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, alongside the reports of the directors, auditors, board evaluation consultants, and audit committee.
The meeting will also deliberate on the declaration of a final dividend and the re-election of three non-executive directors retiring by rotation, who are Mr Umaru Kwairanga, Mrs Ojinika Olaghere, and Dr Okechukwu Itanyi.
Other ordinary business items on the agenda include authorising the board to fix the remuneration of the external auditors, determining the remuneration of managers, and electing members of the statutory audit committee.
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