Economy
Futures Pointing to Another Mixed Performance on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed open on Friday, with stocks poised to move in opposite directions once again after closing mixed for two consecutive sessions. Lingering uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets may keep some traders on the sidelines going into the first weekend of the summer.
Stocks saw modest strength for much of the trading session on Thursday but gave back ground going into the close. The major averages pulled back near the unchanged line, with the Dow and the S&P 500 dipping into negative territory.
The major averages finished the day mixed for the second consecutive session. While the Nasdaq inched up 2.73 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,236.69, the Dow slipped 12.74 points or 0.1 percent to 21,397.29 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.11 points or 0.1 percent to 2,434.50.
Earlier in the day, stocks benefited from a positive reaction to the release of the details of the Senate Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Healthcare stocks showed a strong move to the upside following the release of the draft of the bill but gave back ground along with the broader markets late in the session.
The pullback may partly have reflected uncertainty about the future of the bill after four Republican Senators said they cannot support the plan in its current form.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., has little margin for error with the bill, as he can only afford to lose the support of two Republicans and still pass the legislation.
On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing a modest uptick in first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended June 17th.
The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 241,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 238,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge up to 240,000.
A separate report from the Conference Board showed that its index of leading economic indicators rose in line with economist estimates in the month of May.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.3 percent in May after rising by a downwardly revised 0.2 percent in April.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.
Gold stocks held on to strong gains, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index climbing by 1.8 percent. The index continued to rebound after ending Tuesday’s trading at its lowest closing level in over a month. The strength among gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.
Significant strength also remained visible among pharmaceutical stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index. With the upward move, the index reached its best closing level in ten months.
Within the pharmaceutical sector, Novartis (NVS) posted a standout gain after trial results revealed its Canakinumab reduces the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with a prior heart attack.
Steel, biotechnology, and software stocks also saw some strength on the day, while banking and tobacco stocks moved to the downside.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
