Economy

Key Events Later This Week May Keep Traders on Sidelines

Published

7 years ago

29/04/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat opening on Monday as traders look ahead to several key events later this week.

Traders may be reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the announcement of the Federal Reserve?s latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, although the accompanying statement and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell?s subsequent press conference are still likely to attract attention.

Traders are also likely to keep a close eye on the Labor Department?s monthly jobs report scheduled to be released on Friday.

Economists expect the report to show an increase of about 180,000 jobs in April compared to the addition of 196,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.8 percent.

Reports on consumer confidence, pending home sales, and manufacturing and service sector activity may also impact trading in the coming days.

Traders will also have another slew of earnings news to digest, with Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), General Electric (GE), General Motors (GM), McDonald?s (MCD), Pfizer (PFE), Apple (AAPL), Kraft Heinz (KHC), and DowDuPont (DWDP) among the companies due to report their results this week.

After recovering from an early move to the downside, stocks moved moderately higher over the course of the trading session on Friday. With the upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the session at 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 81.25 points or 0.3 percent to 26,543.33, the Nasdaq climbed 27.72 points or 0.3 percent to 8,146.40 and the S&P 500 advanced 13.71 points or 0.5 percent to 2,939.88.

For the week, the Dow edged down by 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq soared by 1.9 percent and the S&P 500 surged up by 1.2 percent.

The turnaround on Wall Street came as traders reacted to the Commerce Department’s preliminary reading on first quarter GDP.

The report showed an unexpected acceleration in GDP growth in the first quarter, although economists expressed some concerns about the underlying data.

The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product jumped by 3.2 percent in the first quarter after climbing by 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The acceleration in the pace of growth came as a surprise to economists, who had expected GDP to increase by 2.1 percent.

Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said the much stronger than expected GDP growth would seem to “make a mockery of claims that the U.S. economy is slowing as the fiscal stimulus fades.”

“After all, 3.2% is well above the economy’s 2% potential pace and the 2.2% gain in the final quarter of last year,” Ashworth said. “Looking beyond the headline number, however, there are plenty of causes for concern.”

Ashworth predicted positive contributions from net trade, inventories and highways investment will all be reversed in the coming quarters and continues to expect overall growth to slow this year.

Traders were also reacting to the latest batch of mixed earnings news from big-name companies, with auto giant Ford (F) moving sharply higher after reporting first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Online retail giant Amazon (AMZN) also ended the day firmly in positive territory after reporting better than expected quarterly results.

On the other hand, shares of Intel (INTC) plunged by 9 percent after the semiconductor giant reported better than expected first quarter results but provided disappointing guidance.

Bargain hunting contributed to considerable strength among tobacco stocks, with the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index jumping by 2.6 percent after slumping to a two-month closing low on Thursday.

Gold stocks also showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.5 percent. The rally by the gold sector came amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal.

Housing stocks also ended the day notably higher, while energy stocks moved to the downside amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.

Economy

Crypto Investor Bamu Gift Wandji of Polyfarm in EFCC Custody

Published

3 hours ago

31/01/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A cryptocurrency investor and owner of Polyfarm, Mr Bamu Gift Wandji, is currently cooling off in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He was handed over to the anti-money laundering agency by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday, January 30, 2026, after his arrest on Monday, January 12, 2026.

A statement from the EFCC yesterday disclosed that the suspect was apprehended by the NSCDC in Gwagwalada, Abuja for running an investment scheme without the authorisation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria.

It was claimed that Mr Wandji created a fraudulent crypto investment platform called Polyfarm, where he allegedly lured innocent Nigerians to invest in Polygon, a crypto token that attracts high returns.

Investigation further revealed that he also deceived the public that his project, Polyfarm, has its native token called “polyfarm coin” which he sold to the public.

In his bid to promote the scheme, the suspect posted about this on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, X (formally Twitter) and Telegram. He also conducted seminars in some major cities in Nigeria including Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where he described the scheme as a life-changing programme.

Further investigation revealed that in October, 2025, subscribers who could not access their funds were informed by the suspect that the site was attacked by Lazarus group, a cyber attacking group linked to North Korea.

Further investigations showed that Polyfarm is not registered and not licensed with SEC to carry out crypto transactions in Nigeria. Also, no investment happened with subscribers’ funds and that the suspect used funds paid by subscribers to pay others in the name of profit.

Investigation also revealed that native coin, polyfarm coin was never listed on coin market cap and that the suspect sold worthless coins to the general public.

Contrary to the claim of the suspect that his platform was attacked, EFCC’s investigations revealed that the platform was never attacked or hacked by anyone and that the suspect withdrew investors’ funds and utilized the same for his personal gains.

The EFCC, in the statement, disclosed that Mr Wandji would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

Economy

Nigerian Stocks Shed 0.09% on Mild Profit-Taking

Published

3 hours ago

31/01/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Profit-takers pounced on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, weakening it by 0.09 per cent at the close of transactions.

Investors toned down on their hunger for Nigerian stocks during the last trading session of the week, with selling pressure mainly on the banking space, which shed 0.78 per cent.

The bourse crumbled despite the other sectors closing green, with the consumer goods up by 0.10 per cent, and the energy index up by 0.02 per cent, while the industrial index closed flat.

Livestock Feeds depreciated by 10.00 per cent to sell for N6.30, Learn Africa declined by 10.00 per cent to N8.10, Living Trust Mortgage Bank also slipped by 10.00 per cent to N4.05, Deap Capital gave up 9.97 per cent to trade at N9.39, and Industrial and Medical Gases lost 9.61 per cent to finish at N31.50.

On the flip side, Zichis appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N4.19, Abbey Mortgage Bank gained 9.94 per cent to quote at N9.40, RT Briscoe jumped by 9.93 per cent to N7.86, Haldane McCall grew by 9.90 per cent to N4.33, and Omatek increased by 9.87 per cent to N3.00.

Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive despite the poor outcome, recording 33 price gainers and 31 price losers, representing strong investor sentiment.

The All-Share Index was down by 156.91 points during the session to 165,370.40 points from the 165,527.31 points achieved a day earlier, and the market capitalisation depleted by N184 billion to N106.153 trillion from N105.969 trillion.

Trading data showed that 687.4 million equities valued at N15.0 billion exchanged hands in 41,553 deals yesterday compared with the 691.4 million equities worth N15.4 billion traded in 38,665 deals on Thursday, implying a jump in the number of deals by 7.47 per cent, and a slip in the trading volume and value by 2.60 per cent, respectively.

The busiest stock on Friday was Veritas Kapital with 80.5 million units worth N197.0 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 79.3 million units valued at N87.5 million, Deap capital transacted 33.3 million units for N340.5 million, Access Holdings sold 31.0 million units valued at N703.0 million, and Zenith Bank exchanged 30.6 million units worth N2.2 billion.

Economy

NASD Exchange Rises 0.20%

Published

7 hours ago

31/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated by 0.20 per cent on Friday, January 30, supported by the gains achieved by two securities on the platform.

During the session, Okitipupa Plc went up by N15.70 to finish at N234.60 per share versus the previous day’s N218.90 per share and Paintcomm Investment Plc expanded by 5 Kobo to close at N11.05 per unit compared with the previous day’s N11.00 per unit.

It was observed that yesterday, there were three price losers led by Geo-Fluids Plc, which dropped 60 Kobo to sell at N5.75 per share versus N6.35 per share, Afriland Properties Plc declined by 35 Kobo to close at N13.65 per unit compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.00 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc depreciated by 3 Kobo to 66 Kobo per share from 69 Kobo per share.

At the close of business, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 7.34 points to 3,630.11 points from 3,622.77 points and the market capitalisation grew by N4.39 billion to N2.171 trillion from N2.167 trillion.

A total of 287,618 units of securities exchanged hands on Friday compared with the previous day’s 1.9 million units of securities, indicating a decline in the volume of trades by 85.6 per cent.

The value of transactions, according to data, was down by 77.2 per cent to N3.1 million from N13.4 million, but the number of deals increased by 31.3 per cent to 21 deals from 16 deals.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units exchanged for N623.0 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.6 million units traded for N108.5 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N61.1 million.

CSCS Plc also ended the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units sold for N623.0 million, followed by Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 10.1 million units worth N4.1 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N61.1 million.