Economy
Asian Stocks Stumble as Global Growth Worries Persist
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks finished mostly lower on Wednesday as global growth worries persisted and Italy’s populist government escalated a dispute with the European Commission over the country’s spending plans.
The Italian government told the European Union on Tuesday it would maintain its deficit and economic growth forecasts for 2019 despite calls from the bloc’s authorities to revise its draft budget.
Chinese shares fell after the release of mixed economic data. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 22.64 points or 0.9 percent to 2,632.24, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended down 138.44 points or 0.5 percent at 25,654.43.
Industrial production in China rose an annual 5.9 percent in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said today, exceeding expectations for 5.8 percent, which would have been unchanged from the September reading.
Retail sales climbed 8.6 percent year-on-year, missing forecasts for a gain of 9.2 percent, while fixed asset investment advanced an annual 5.7 percent, surpassing forecasts for 5.5 percent.
Japanese shares ended a choppy session higher as technology companies and electronic component makers surged on short covering. The Nikkei 225 Index inched up 35.96 points or 0.2 percent to 21,846.48, rebounding from the two-week low hit the previous day. The broader Topix Index closed 0.2 percent higher at 1,641.26.
Tokyo Electron, Advantest and TDK Corp rose 1-3 percent. Tokyo Electric Power surged up 6.8 percent and ChubuElectric Power rallied 3.7 percent on expectations that falling oil prices would contribute to lower costs.
Lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 1.5 percent after raising its net profit outlook for the fiscal year ending in March. SoftBank advanced 4.7 percent on news that the company has invested another $3 billion in co-working office company WeWork.
In economic news, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report that Japan’s gross domestic product slipped a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent sequentially in the third quarter.
That was in line with expectations following the 0.7 percent gain in the previous three months. On an annualized seasonally adjusted basis, GDP tumbled 1.2 percent.
Australian markets fell sharply as oil extended losses in Asian trading after plunging 7 percent on Tuesday amid worries of oversupply and slowing global demand.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index plunged 101.40 points or 1.7 percent to 5,732.80 after falling 1.8 percent the previous day. The broader All Ordinaries Index slumped 1.7 percent to finish at 5,822.30.
Origin Energy, Oil Search, Woodside Petroleum, Santos and Beach Energy tumbled 2-5 percent as oil extended a steep slide on growth fears.
Miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and South32 also fell 2-5 percent, while the big four banks lost 2-3 percent.
Plastics packaging maker Pact Group Holdings plummeted 9.7 percent after cutting its earnings forecast for fiscal 2019.
Meanwhile, Seven West Media rose over 2 percent. The media firm said it expects to grab a record share of the television ad market over the coming year.
In economic news, a survey from Westpac showed that its measure of Australian consumer confidence improved for a second month in November.
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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