Economy
Disappointing Jobs Data May Weigh on US Stocks
By Investors Hub
major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday on the heels of the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing weaker than expected private sector job growth in the month of June.
Geopolitical concerns may also weigh on the markets, although traders may be somewhat reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Following the fourth of July holiday on Tuesday, stocks turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Wednesday.
While the Dow edged down 1.10 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,478.17, the Nasdaq climbed 40.80 points or 0.7 percent to 6,150.86 and the S&P 500 rose 3.53 points or 0.2 percent to 2,432.54.
The choppiness on Wall Street came as many traders remained away from their desks after the markets were closed yesterday.
The Federal Reserve plans to reduce their bloated balance sheet but failed to provide a specific timeline to begin the process, the minutes of the June Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed.
“Several” policy makers were in favor of starting the reduction of its $4.5 trillion balance sheet within a “couple of months.”
The market consensus is toward a start in September, which would likely push another interest rate hike to the end of the year despite the Fed’s optimism that stubbornly weak inflation will pick up.
“The information reviewed for the June 13-14 meeting showed that labor market conditions continued to strengthen in recent months and suggested that real gross domestic product (GDP) was expanding at a faster pace in the second quarter than in the first quarter,” the minutes read.
Since that meeting, final GDP figures for the first quarter showed economic growth was better than expected.
The Fed’s forecast for consumer price inflation was revised down slightly for 2017 but the projection was little changed thereafter, as the recent weakness in inflation was viewed as transitory.
Inflation on a 12-month basis was expected to remain somewhat below 2 percent in the near term, but almost all members expected it to stabilize around 2 percent over the medium term.
Regarding interest rates, the Fed said, “Economic conditions would evolve in a manner that would warrant gradual increases in the federal funds rate.”
A report from the Commerce Department showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell by more than expected in the month of May.
The Commerce Department said factory orders slumped by 0.8 percent to $464.9 billion in May after falling by a revised 0.3 percent in April.
Economists had expected factory orders to drop by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.2 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
Energy stocks saw substantial weakness amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil, while significant strength was visible among biotechnology, semiconductor, and gold stocks.
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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