Economy
Wall Street Opens Lower Wednesday
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to see further downside after turning lower over the course of the previous session.
A further inversion of the yield curve may weigh on Wall Street, with the inversion seen as an indicator that a U.S. recession is looming.
The yield on the benchmark ten-year note has fallen further below the two-year yield, with the spread widening to its lowest level since 2007.
The White House has sought to downplay recession concerns, although the inverted yield curve combined with the escalating U.S.-China trade war have generated considerable uncertainty on Wall Street.
News that new U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is preparing to suspend parliament, paving the way the way for a no-deal Brexit, may also weigh on Wall Street.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data may keep some traders on the sidelines.
In the coming days, a revised reading on second quarter GDP may attract attention along with reports on weekly jobless claims, pending home sales and personal income and spending.
After failing to sustain an early move to the downside, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session and into negative territory.
The major averages ended the day in the red but off their lows of the session. The Dow slid 120.93 points or 0.5 percent to 25,777.90, the Nasdaq fell 26.79 points or 0.3 percent to 7,826.95 and the S&P 500 dropped 9.22 points or 0.3 percent to 2,869.16.
The early strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the sell-off seen last Friday.
Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders expressed uncertainty about the escalating U.S.-China trade war.
President Donald Trump has claimed top Chinese officials called asking for the resumption of trade talks, but Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang continues to say he has not heard of any recent call.
Geng told reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday that China hopes the U.S. will return to rationality, stop its wrong practices and create conditions for the two sides to resume talks on the basis of mutual respect.
The yield curve between the ten-year and two-year yields inverting to its worst level since 2007 also led to renewed concerns about a looming recession.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Conference Board showing only a slight deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of August.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index edged down to 135.1 in August after surging up to 135.8 in July. Economists had expected the index to show a much more substantial decrease to 130.0.
“Consumer confidence was relatively unchanged in August, following July’s increase,” said Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board. “While other parts of the economy may show some weakening, consumers have remained confident and willing to spend.”
She added, “However, if the recent escalation in trade and tariff tensions persists, it could potentially dampen consumers’ optimism regarding the short-term economic outlook.”
Tobacco stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index down by 4.7 percent to its lowest closing level in over six months.
Philip Morris (PM) and Altria Group (MO) posted steep losses after the companies confirmed they are in discussions about reuniting in a potential all-stock, merger of equals.
Significant weakness also emerged among biotechnology stocks, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index falling by 1.3 percent to a seven-month closing low.
Natural gas, steel, and transportation stocks also saw considerable weakness, while gold stocks bucked the downtrend amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Workers at Seplat Energy will resume work after a strike action that impacted production was called off by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over the weekend, with the company issuing written commitments on pay rises.
Top employees began an indefinite strike last Friday as talks over a collective bargaining agreement and staff welfare issues broke down. The action came at a time when Nigeria is seeking to maximise production amid rising global oil prices.
According to Reuters, in an April 4 letter to the chief executive of Seplat Nigeria, Mr Roger Brown, PENGASSAN said it had directed members at the local energy firm to immediately suspend industrial action after negotiations resumed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. Other less-skilled workers are covered by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and did not partake in the strike with PENGASSAN.
The union said talks on a 2026 collective bargaining agreement would continue, with the aim of concluding outstanding issues by April 13. However, according to the publication, the union did not disclose more details about its financial demands.
“We can confirm that the union has suspended its notice of industrial action to allow negotiations to conclude on outstanding items within an agreed framework,” Seplat spokesperson, Mr Ogechukwu Udeagha, said, adding that “operations are recommencing at our various locations.”
Seplat Energy’s group production averaged 131,506 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, according to its latest audited results. That is the equivalent of around 7 per cent–9 per cent of Nigeria’s total liquids production.
The company expects output to rise to 155,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, making any sustained disruption particularly sensitive for Nigeria’s supply outlook. This comes as it seeks to scale production while remaining a major supplier of gas to Nigeria’s domestic power market.
With the company’s output expected to rise, any prolonged disruption would have significantly impacted Nigeria’s oil supply and fiscal outlook.
By Dipo Olowookere
The weekly turnover of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited shrank by 27.70 per cent or 1.094 billion equities, partly due to the inability of market participants to trade last Friday as a result of the Good Friday public holiday declared by the federal government.
In the week, investors bought and sold 2.856 billion equities worth N113.597 billion in 215,287 deals versus the 3.950 billion equities valued at N201.312 billion transacted in 359,642 deals in the preceding week.
The activity chart was led by the financial services industry with 1.811 billion shares valued at N61.901 billion in 86,818 deals, contributing 63.41 per cent and 54.49 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The services sector traded 299.895 million stocks worth N2.966 billion in 13,797 deals, and the ICT segment exchanged 183.233 million equities for N14.654 billion in 25,287 deals.
Wema Bank, Access Holdings, and Secure Electronic Technology accounted for 734.659 million shares worth N14.134 billion in 12,319 deals, contributing 25.72 per cent and 12.44 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.
Data from the NGX said 29 stocks gained weight versus 47 stocks of the previous week, as 57 shares lost weight versus 45 shares in the preceding week, while 62 equities closed flat versus 56 equities a week earlier.
Multiverse led the gainers’ chart after it gained 20.66 per cent to trade at N20.15, UPDC REIT appreciated by 15.49 per cent to N8.20, International Energy Insurance chalked up 12.54 per cent to quote at N3.32, Austin Laz grew by 10.47 per cent to N4.43, and Unilever Nigeria rose by 10.00 per cent to N103.40.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology topped the losers’ table after it lost 21.54 per cent to close at N1.02, John Holt declined by 18.47 per cent to N15.45, May and Baker depreciated by 16.57 per cent to N35.00, Aluminium Extrusion moderated by 16.27 per cent to N10.55, and Legend Internet slipped by 16.00 per cent to N6.30.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 0.39 per cent to 201,698,89 points, and the market capitalisation rose by 0.65 per cent to N129.806 trillion.
In the same vein, all other indices finished higher apart from the main board, insurance, MERI Value, consumer goods, industrial goods and growth indices, which went down by 0.29 per cent, 4.25 per cent, 0.36 per cent, 1.74 per cent, 0.24 per cent, and 0.06 per cent, respectively, while the sovereign bond index closed flat.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 3.8 per cent week-on-week decline in the 14th trading week of 2026, which had only four trading sessions.
This happened because of the public holiday observed on Friday for Easter celebrations in Nigeria and across the globe.
Last week, the market capitalisation of the bourse went down by N95.36 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.512 trillion in Week 13, while the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) shrank by 159.39 points to 4,040.30 points from 4,199.69 points in the previous week.
In the week, there were five price losers and eight price losers led by 11 Plc, which crumbled by N94.57 to N256.60 per unit from N351.17 per unit.
MRS Oil Plc lost N39.00 to close at N171.00 per share from N210.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N17 to N93.00 per unit from N110.00 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc shed N2.10 to close at N78.00 per share versus N80.10 per share.
Further, NASD Plc dropped N4.14 to end at N37.36 per unit versus N41.50 per unit, UBN Property Plc crashed by 22 Kobo to N1.98 per share from N2.20 per share, Food Concepts Plc slid by 13 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N3.00 per unit, and Capital Bancorp Plc contracted by 10 Kobo to N1.90 per share from N2.00 per share.
On the flip side, IPWA Plc gained 55 Kobo to sell at N6.06 per unit versus N5.51 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 7 Kobo to N3.25 per share from N3.18 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc improved by 5 Kobo to 57 Kobo per unit from 52 Kobo per unit, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc grew by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc moved up by 1 Kobo to N1.34 per unit from N1.33 per unit.
The volume of transactions witnessed a 5,490.9 per cent surge last week to 3.5 billion units from 62.7 million units, and the value of transactions soared by 437.7 per cent to N9.7 billion from N1.7 billion. These trades were completed in 163 deals and involved 20 stocks.
The most traded stock by value was GNI Plc with N8.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with N630.5 million, Geo-Fluids Plc with N162.7 million, CSCS Plc with N57.5 million, and Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc with N37.1 million.
The most trased stock by volume was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units, Geo-Fluids Plc traded 50.1 million units, Okitipupa Plc transacted 21.0 million units, UBN Property Plc quoted 2.5 million units, and CSCS Plc sold 0.73 million units.
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