Economy
American Stocks May Show Lack of Direction
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Friday following the strong upward move seen in the previous session. While the Dow futures are down by 45 points, the Nasdaq futures are up by 3 points.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets.
After moving lower over the two previous sessions, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Thursday. With the upward move on the day, the Nasdaq reached a new record closing high.
The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow climbed 187.08 points or 0.8 percent to 23,458.36, the Nasdaq jumped 87.08 points or 1.3 percent to 6,793.29 and the S&P 500 advanced 21.02 points or 0.8 percent to 2,585.64.
The strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to better than expected quarterly results from Wal-Mart (WMT) and Cisco Systems (CSCO).
Wal-Mart and Cisco surged up by 10.9 percent 5.2 percent, respectively, after both companies beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Stocks remained firmly positive after the House voted to approve the Republican tax reform bill, although final passage of legislation remains less than a certainty.
The House voted 227 to 205 in favor of their tax reform legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, with the vote coming down largely along party lines.
On the U.S. economic front, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended November 11th, according to a report released by the Labor Department.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 249,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 239,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 235,000.
A separate report released by the Labor Department showed U.S. import prices rose by less than expected in the month of October.
The Labor Department said import prices rose by 0.2 percent in October after climbing by 0.8 percent in September. Economists had expected import prices to increase by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the report said export prices were unchanged in October after increasing by 0.7 percent in the previous month. Export prices had been expected to climb by 0.4 percent.
Growth in Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity slowed by more than expected in the month of November, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current manufacturing activity in the region dropped to 22.7 in November from 27.9 in October.
While a positive reading still indicates growth in regional manufacturing activity, economists had expected the index to show a more modest decrease to 25.0.
The Federal Reserve also released a report showing industrial production in the U.S. increased by more than anticipated in the month of October.
The report said industrial production climbed by 0.9 percent in October after rising by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in September.
Economists had expected production to rise by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.3 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Additionally, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing an unexpected improvement in homebuilder confidence in the month of November.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 70 in November from 68 in October. Economists had expected the index to be unchanged.
Computer hardware stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 3.7percent.
NetApp (NTAP) led the hardware sector higher after the data storage company reported fiscal second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Significant strength was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings (HA) posted a standout gain.
Networking, retail, and biotechnology stocks also saw considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has unveiled a unified Taxpayer Identification (Tax ID) system for all taxable persons across the country as part of efforts to strengthen tax administration and improve transparency.
The agency announced the development in a public notice issued jointly with the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) on Monday.
According to the notice, the initiative is backed by Sections 6, 7, and 8 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, which mandate every taxable person in Nigeria to obtain a Tax ID, in a wider move to expand the country’s tax base.
The NRS said the new framework is designed to create a centralised and harmonised taxpayer database that would enhance interactions between taxpayers and revenue authorities at both federal and sub-national levels.
“The Tax ID will serve as a single, unified identity for all taxpayers, enabling seamless interaction with tax authorities at both federal and sub-national levels. It is designed to consolidate taxpayer records, eliminate duplication, and ensure more efficient management of tax-related information,” the agency stated.
The revenue agency explained that the new system would simplify tax compliance procedures, including taxpayer registration, filing of returns, and payment processes.
According to the NRS, the framework is also expected to improve accountability and reduce leakages in tax collection by creating better visibility and tracking of taxpayer information nationwide.
“The initiative will simplify tax compliance processes, including registration, tax filing, and payment procedures. The system will improve transparency by enabling better visibility and tracking of taxpayer records while reducing leakages and improving accountability in tax collection. The framework will also harmonise taxpayer information across all levels of government,” the notice added.
The agency further disclosed that the new Tax ID system would replace the existing Tax Identification Number (TIN) Validation API currently used by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), financial institutions, and other organisations for taxpayer verification.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three bellwether stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.31 per cent on Monday, May 18.
This brought the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 54.71 points to 4,133.70 points from 4,188.41 points, and shrank the market capitalisation by N32.73 billion to N2.473 trillion from N2.506 trillion.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc contracted by N12.45 to sell at N146.55 per share compared with last Friday’s closing price of N159.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N2.34 to N70.00 per unit from N72.34 per unit, and NASD Plc lost 50 Kobo to trade at N34.50 per share versus N35.00 per share.
The trio overpowered the N5.56 gained Newrest Asl Plc. This stock ended the trading session at N61.15 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N55.59 per unit.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by investors slid by 56.1 per cent to 514,142 units from 1.2 million units, and the value of securities dropped 29.8 per cent to close at N17.4 million versus N29.8 million, while the number of deals jumped 12.5 per cent to 27 deals from 24 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a horrible day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, May 15, as its value further weakened against the United States Dollar.
In the black market window, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,385/$1, but at the GTBank forex counter, it remained unchanged at N1,383/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N2.66 or 0.19 per cent to sell for N1,373.70/$1 compared to last Friday’s rate of N1,371.04/$1.
Equally, it fell against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.05 to trade at N1,839.66/£1 versus N1,830.61/£1, and lost N5.42 on the Euro to close at N1,600.49/€1 versus N1,595.07/€1.
The performance of the local currency during the session indicates early worries despite all signals pointing to stability, amid improved Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with steady, higher oil receipts to bolster the nation’s reserves.
Activity at the market showed that turnover rose 57.3 per cent to $76.29 million on Monday from $48.49 million posted on Friday.
Over the weekend, S&P raised Nigeria’s credit ratings for the first time since 2012 and highlighted improved FX market liquidity and $10 billion turnover recorded in April 2026 as one of the major gains of the CBN-led FX reforms.
The agency said the liberalisation of the exchange rate has bolstered access to foreign currency and enabled a market-driven exchange-rate environment while supporting investor and consumer confidence.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Monday as investors monitored developments in the Iran conflict and weighed the impact of surging oil prices on inflation and US interest-rate expectations.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $2,134.10, Cardano (ADA) rose by 0.6 per cent to $0.2515, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $85.11, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.2 per cent to $643.29, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.03 per cent to $0.3565, and Bitcoin (BTC) advanced by 0.02 per cent to $76,912.12.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.1044, and Ripple (XRP) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $1.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
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