Economy
Another Choppy Trading Day Looms at Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to extend the lackluster performance seen in the previous session.
Traders may remain reluctant to make significant moves as they keep an eye on renewed trade talks between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Canada rejoined the talks following President Donald Trump?s announcement of a preliminary trade deal with Mexico on Monday.
In remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said ?difficult? concessions by Mexico have set the stage for productive conversations in the coming days.
Freeland said she is due to engage into detailed discussions with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer later today.
Following the strong upward move seen on Monday, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Tuesday. Despite the choppy trading, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 crept up to new record closing highs.
The major averages eventually ended the day just above the unchanged line. The Dow edged up 14.38 points or 0.1 percent to 26,064.02, the Nasdaq ticked up 12.14 points or 0.2 percent to 8,030.04 and the S&P 500 inched up 0.78 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,897.52.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following the strength seen in recent sessions.
Traders largely shrugged off a report from the Conference Board showing an unexpected improvement in consumer confidence in the month of August.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index surged up to 133.4 in August from an upwardly revised 127.9 in July. Economists had expected the index to dip to 126.8 from the 127.4 originally reported for the previous month.
With the unexpected increase, the consumer confidence index reached its highest level since hitting 135.8 in October of 2000.
Stocks initially benefited from a continued positive reaction to Monday’s news of the preliminary trade agreement between the U.S. and Mexico.
President Donald Trump indicated the trade deal with Mexico is intended to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement but suggested Canada could be excluded from the new pact.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC he remains hopeful a revamped trade deal will get done with Canada but said the U.S. is ready to go forward with the agreement with Mexico.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.
Telecom stocks saw substantial strength, however, with the NYSE Arca Telecom Index surging up by 1.9 percent. With the jump, the index reached its best closing level in almost four years.
Notable strength also emerged among real estate stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Real Estate Index. The index ended the session at a two-year closing high.
On the other hand, gold stocks came under pressure over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2 percent. The weakness among gold stocks came amid a modest pullback by the price of the precious metal.
Tobacco stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, resulting in a 1.4 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index. The index fell to its lowest closing level in three months.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the Nigerian private sector in July 2026 contracted to 52.5 points from 53.4 points in June 2026, a statement made available to Business Post has shown.
This occurred despite the business environment sustaining its growth last month, with an increase in new orders experienced, as inflationary pressures softened, and output and employment modestly rising.
The Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Muyiwa Oni, said the PMI indicated that the private sector recorded its slowest since March 2026, as businesses also increased their input purchasing activity to keep up with current demand requirements and prepare for future workloads.
“Nigerian businesses reported improved customer demand in July while better pricing and new product launches also helped them to capture new orders arising from the increase in demand. These factors helped to keep the private sector activity in an expansionary territory, although this moderated when compared to June,” he was quoted as saying.
It was stated that while input costs increased at their slowest pace in five months, panellists reported higher costs for fuel and raw materials. Selling prices also softened in line with the picture for input costs in July.
Headline inflation eased slightly to 15.91 per cent y/y in June from 15.93 per cent y/y in May, snapping three consecutive months of price increases.
Although July inflation is likely to be higher m/m, it is expected to print lower, likely at 15.72 per cent y/y, primarily driven by favourable base effects from the corresponding period of last year, because there are no expectations of the magnitude of m/m inflation witnessed in July 2025 (1.99 per cent) to materialise this year.
“We retain our 2026 growth forecasts at 4.1 per cent as we see the oil sector growing by 3.45 per cent y/y in 2026, from 8.50 per cent y/y in 2025, while the non-oil sector is likely to grow by 4.11 per cent y/y, from 3.71 per cent y/y in 2025.
“The risks to our outlook include country-wide insecurity which may constrain food production, exchange rate pressures resurfacing, extreme-weather related conditions and higher fertiliser prices impacting crop yield, and a volatile global environment which may affect sentiment and constrain capital flows,” Mr Oni noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Sahara Upstream, a Nigeria-focused crude producer, has deployed a new 380,000-barrel tanker to boost exports from the OML 18 block as part of a wider push by domestic operators to invest in infrastructure and lift output and exports for Africa’s biggest oil producer.
The MT D Adesanya, which can hold more than 62,000 cubic metres of crude, will operate alongside the MT D Bayero, receiving crude from shuttle vessels at Bonny Anchorage, one of Nigeria’s main crude export hubs, before transferring it to the FSO Cawthorne storage facility.
Sahara said the tanker would help cut turnaround times, currently about 30 to 48 hours, and support a planned 50 per cent increase in exports from the block’s current level of about 950,000 barrels per month.
The block currently produces about 36,000 barrels per day, according to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), with Sahara targeting output of 60,000 barrels per day.
OML 18 is one of the Niger Delta’s oldest producing assets. It began production in 1970 and contains an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves.
Shell, Total and Eni sold their combined interests to Eroton in 2015 as part of a broader shift toward domestic ownership in Nigeria’s upstream sector.
This development comes as Sahara Upstream is deepening its exploration and production footprint through Asharami Energy Limited (AEL), its upstream E&P business, which says it is targeting 350,000 barrels of oil per day by 2030 through its subsidiary, Enageed Resources Limited (ERL).
The growth target comes as AEL also marks a major safety milestone, achieving 6 million Lost Time Injury (LTI)-free man-hours in its OML-148 operations — reinforcing the company’s commitment to operational excellence and safety leadership.
According to Asharami Energy, the milestone reflects its ability to execute complex operations safely, in line with Sahara’s Beyond XXX vision, which builds on the group’s 30-year legacy of responsible enterprise while marking its next chapter of impact, innovation, and sustainable growth.
The developments position Sahara Upstream and its subsidiaries among the domestic operators driving increased investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure, as the group works to scale up production and exports for Africa’s biggest oil producer.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the leading energy firms in Nigeria, Aradel Holdings Plc, has expressed its desire to optimise its enlarged portfolio and improve operational efficiency in the second half of 2026.
The company is planning to build on the success it recorded in the first half of the year, where it grew its revenue by 577 per cent to N2.5 trillion from N368.1 billion in H1 2025.
The significant rise in earnings was driven by higher production volumes together with stronger realised crude oil and gas prices, with the average at $90.4/bbl and $2.08/mmscf, respectively.
In the period under review, the Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) increased by 688 per cent to N1.4 trillion from N176.4 billion in the corresponding period of last year, while the operating profit surged by 789 per cent to N1.1 trillion from N118.6 billion due to higher revenue and crude handling income at N149.8 billion, partly offset by underlift cost and general and administrative costs.
The net cash generated from operations was N975.6 billion between January and June 2026 versus N140.8 billion in the same period of 2025, reflecting the cash generation of the enlarged organisation.
The net debt contracted by 70 per cent on a year-to-date basis to N46.5 billion from N475.1 billion as of December 31, 2025.
Aradel, in the period under consideration, improved its post-tax profit by 30 per cent to N191.0 billion from N146.4 billion, a development that impressed its chief executive, Mr Adegbite Falade, who said, “A firmer price environment supported performance, generating net cash from operating activities of N975.6 billion and a closing cash balance of N1.7 trillion.”
“Our enlarged portfolio provides more opportunities to generate stronger cash flow and returns for shareholders and unlocking that potential is our main focus.
“We reaffirm our full year production guidance of 110 – 140 kboepd and remain committed to operating responsibly in a changing energy landscape and to delivering lasting value for our stakeholders,” he stated.
