Economy
Early Strength on Wall Street as Traders Pick Stocks at Low Levels
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Wednesday after stocks moved notably lower over the course of the previous session.
Bargain hunting may contribute to early strength on Wall Street, as traders pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the drop seen on Tuesday.
Following the lackluster performance seen on Monday, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly steep drop, underperforming the other two major averages.
The major averages ended the session at their worst levels of the day. The Dow fell 98.89 points or 0.5 percent to 21,310.66, the Nasdaq tumbled 100.53 points or 1.6 percent to 6,146.62 and the S&P 500 slid 19.69 points or 0.8 percent to 2,419.38.
The weakness on Wall Street came following news that the International Monetary Fund lowered its outlook for U.S. economic growth.
The IMF lowered its forecast for GDP growth this year to 2.1 percent from 2.3 percent and also slashed its outlook for GDP growth next year to 2.1 percent from 2.5 percent.
The group said its forecast uses a baseline assumption of unchanged policies due to uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s ability to accomplish his goals on tax reform and spending.
Negative sentiment was also generated by news that Senate Republicans have delayed a vote on their bill to repeal and replace Obamacare until after the July 4th recess.
The move by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., comes as several Republican Senators indicated they would vote against a procedural motion to begin debate on the bill.
McConnell reportedly told Republicans the bill would be rewritten over the recess and receive a new score from the Congressional Budget Office.
Additionally, a notable decline by shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) weighed on the Nasdaq, with the parent of Google sliding by 2.5 percent.
The drop came after Google was hit with a record $2.7 billion fine by European Union regulators over claims the company favored its own comparison-shopping service in search results.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board released a report showing an unexpected improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of June.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 118.9 in June from a downwardly revised 117.6 in May.
The increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to drop to 116.7 from the 117.9 originally reported for the previous month.
Biotechnology stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, resulting in a 3.2 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The index pulled back further off the nearly two-year closing high set last Friday.
Alder BioPharmaceuticals (ALDR) led the biotech sector lower after releasing the results of a phase 3 trial of its migraine prevention drug.
Significant weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in over a month.
Gold, internet, software, and utilities stocks also saw considerable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Those interested in buying or selling the shares of Aluminium Extrusion Plc on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited will not be able to do so for now.
This is because trading activities on the company’s securities on the Nigerian bourse have been suspended by the NGX Regulation Limited.
The reason for this is that the organisation has failed to submit its financial statements as required by the listing rules for the perusal of the investing community.
After being given grace periods to file the results, the board of the firm has not done the needful, necessitating the wielding of the stick on the entity.
A notice from Customs Street disclosed that the suspension became effective last Wednesday. It will be lifted when the financial results are submitted.
“In accordance with the default filing rules, the suspension of trading in the shares of the company shall be lifted upon the submission of the relevant financial statements,” a part of the notice said.
Business Post reports that Aluminium Extrusion has not filed its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, more than three months after it was required to submit its financial performance for the last fiscal year.
“Trading license holders and the investing public are hereby notified that pursuant to Rule 3.1, Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, (Default Filing Rules), which provides that if an issuer fails to file the relevant accounts by the expiration of the cure period1, the exchange will: a) send to the issuer a second filing deficiency notification within two business days after the end of the cure period; b) suspend trading in the issuer’s securities; and c) notify the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the market within 24 hours of the suspension.
“Trading in the shares of Aluminium Extrusion Plc has been suspended from the facilities of Nigerian Exchange Limited effective Wednesday, July 22, 2026, for not filing its Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2025,” the disclosure stated.
Shares of Aluminium Extrusion last traded on the domestic stock exchange at N9.90 per unit.
By Dipo Olowookere
Last week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, 57 equities appreciated, higher than 44 equities in the previous week, while 38 equities shed weight versus 35 equities in the preceding week, with 51 equities closing flat versus the 67 equities recorded a week earlier.
UPDC REIT chalked up 33.33 per cent to trade at N14.20, First Holdco gained 25.59 per cent to finish at N120.50, Unilever Nigeria rose by 19.31 per cent to N147.95, Cadbury Nigeria improved by 18.42 per cent to N67.50, and AXA Mansard expanded by 17.86 per cent to N13.20.
On the flip side, Mecure lost 26.97 per cent to N62.40, Royal Exchange shrank by 12.84 per cent to N1.29, Tripple Gee slumped by 12.34 per cent to N3.41, SUNU Assurances crumbled by 10.00 per cent to N3.60, and BUA Foods dropped 10.00 per cent to close at N845.10.
In the week, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up 1.60 per cent to 247,357.40 points, and the market capitalisation appreciated by 1.61 per cent to N159.588 trillion.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of the consumer goods, Lotus II, growth, sovereign bond and commodity indices, which fell by 3.76 per cent, 1.55 per cent, 20.24 per cent, 0.14 per cent, and 1.25 per cent respectively.
As for the trading data, 4.433 billion shares worth N306.143 billion in 255,589 deals were transacted in five days versus the 2.819 billion shares valued at N182.499 billion traded in 226,729 deals in the previous week.
The financial services segment led the activity chart with 3.422 billion shares valued at N207.206 billion traded in 117,545 deals, contributing 77.18 per cent and 67.68 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The consumer goods sector traded 201.978 million shares worth N17.171 billion in 28,666 deals, and the ICT industry posted a turnover of 169.481 million shares worth N21.194 billion in 23,107 deals.
First Holdco, Access Holdings, and GTCO accounted for 2.151 billion shares worth N170.793 billion in 44,768 deals, contributing 48.51 per cent and 55.79 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s crude oil exports to the United States rebounded strongly in May as shipments rose by nearly 150 per cent month-on-month as American refiners increased purchases of overseas crude.
Latest data from the US Census Bureau showed that crude imports from Nigeria climbed to 2.36 million barrels in May, compared with 946,000 barrels recorded in April.
This indicated renewed demand for Nigeria’s premium light sweet grades amid shifting global patterns and higher international oil prices as the Middle East disruption weighed on trade.
The value of the imports also rose sharply to $279.8 million, up from $85.2 million in the previous month, reflecting both the higher volume of purchases and stronger crude oil prices during the period.
The rebound coincided with a broader increase in crude oil imports by the US.
According to the latest US International Trade in Goods and Services Report, total US crude imports increased by $1.5 billion in May, making crude oil one of the largest contributors to the $12.3 billion rise in overall goods imports during the month.
The report also showed that imports of industrial supplies and materials increased by $3.1 billion, with crude oil accounting for nearly half of the increase.
The recovery marks a significant turnaround after two consecutive months of declining Nigerian crude shipments to the US market. Export volumes had fallen from 4.64 million barrels in February to 1.54 million barrels in March, before dropping further to 946,000 barrels in April.
Despite the fluctuations, cumulative exports between January and May 2026 reached 11.15 million barrels, valued at approximately $926.6 million, reaffirming Nigeria’s strategic position as a key supplier of premium low-sulphur crude grades to the world’s largest economy.
Concerns surrounding crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest oil transit routes, are encouraging refiners to increase purchases from Atlantic Basin producers such as Nigeria, whose crude grades offer lower geopolitical shipping risks than some Middle Eastern supplies.
Nigeria’s flagship crude grades, including Bonny Light, Qua Iboe and Escravos, remain highly sought after by US Gulf Coast refiners because of their low sulphur content and high yields of premium petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and aviation fuel.
Although the US has emerged as one of the world’s largest crude oil producers following the shale revolution, many American refineries continue to import light sweet crude to complement domestic production and optimise refining operations.
The rebound in exports also comes as Nigeria gradually restores crude production following improved security operations in the Niger Delta and intensified efforts by government agencies and operators to curb crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal refining.
