Economy
China Growth Worries, US Crude Build Sink Oil Prices
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled lower on Wednesday, pressured by low economic activity in leading crude importer, China, and a surprise build in US crude inventories, with Brent shedding $1.16 or 1.4 per cent to trade at $81.71 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) falling by $1.97 or roughly 2.5 per cent to quote at $75.85 per barrel.
Manufacturing activity in China, the world’s second-largest economy, contracted for a fourth straight month in January, raising worries about the country’s growth potential.
Major forecasters, including the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), see oil demand growth in 2024 driven primarily by Chinese consumption.
This looks worrying now after the country’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 49.2 in January from 49.0 in December, driven by a rise in output but still below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction.
This is the latest sign that the broader Chinese economy is struggling to regain momentum came days after a court ordered the liquidation of troubled property developer China Evergrande.
The real estate sector accounts for 25 per cent of China’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Prices also went lower after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory build of 1.2 million barrels for the week to January 26.
This compared with a substantial draw of 9.2 million barrels for the previous week.
Earlier, the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated another inventory draw, at 2.5 million barrels, for the week of January 26.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve policy-setting committee kept the benchmark overnight interest rate in the 5.25 per cent -5.50 per cent range. It announced that rate cuts would not be appropriate until inflation in the world’s largest oil producer moves towards the central bank’s 2 per cent target.
The Chair of the bank, Mr Jerome Powell, said that US interest rates had peaked and would move lower in coming months, with inflation continuing to fall and an expectation of sustained job and economic growth.
The Israel-Hamas war has widened to conflict in the Red Sea between the US and Iran-aligned Houthi militants but record production in the West and slow economic growth will keep a lid on prices and limit any geopolitical risk premium, analysts say.
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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