Economy
Futures Pointing to Initial Strength on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday following the mixed performance seen in the previous session. The upward momentum on Wall Street comes as traders digest the latest batch of earnings news as well as several U.S. economic reports.
Traders are also likely to keep an eye on developments in Washington, as House Republicans prepare to vote on a revised bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Nonetheless, trading activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
After spending much of the day in negative territory, the major averages ended Wednesday’s trading mixed following the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement. While the Dow managed to creep into positive territory, the Nasdaq pulled back off yesterday’s record closing high.
The Dow inched up 8.01 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 20,957.90, while the Nasdaq fell 22.82 points or 0.4 percent to 6,072.55 and the S&P 500 edged down 3.04 points or 0.1 percent to 2,388.13.
The mixed close by the major averages came following the Federal Reserve’s widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged.
After a two-day meeting, the Fed said it decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at $0.75 to 1 percent.
The accompanying statement said recent data indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen even as growth in economic activity slowed.
The Fed said it views the slowing in economic growth during the first quarter as likely to be transitory and called the near-term risks to the economic outlook roughly balanced.
The central bank also reiterated that it expects economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant gradual increases in interest rates.
Earlier in the day, some negative sentiment was generated in reaction to quarterly results from tech giant Apple (AAPL), which reported better than expected second quarter earnings but weaker than expected revenues and iPhone shipments.
Apple also announced a 10.5 percent increase to its quarterly dividend and a $35 billion addition to its stock buyback program.
On the economic front, payroll processor ADP released a report showing that private sector employment increased roughly in line with economist estimates in the month of April.
ADP said private sector employment climbed by 177,000 jobs in April after surging up by a revised 255,000 in March.
Economists had expected employment to increase by 175,000 jobs compared to the jump of 263,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
A separate report from the Institute for Supply Management showed that activity in the service sector grew at a faster than expected rate in the month of April.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index rose to 57.5 in April from 55.2 in March, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 55.8.
Steel stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 3.2 percent.
Allegheny Technologies (ATI), Ryerson (RYI), and Olympic Steel (ZEUS) turned in some of the steel sector’s worst performances.
Considerable weakness was also visible among telecom stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent slump by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index. The index tumbled to its lowest closing level in a month.
Frontier Communications (FTR) fell sharply after reporting a wider than expected first quarter loss and cutting its quarterly dividend.
Commercial real estate and chemical stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while some strength emerged among banking stocks.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
All individual taxpayers in Lagos State have been advised to file their annual tax returns ahead of the March 31 deadline.
This appeal was made by the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) in a statement issued by its Head of Corporate Communications, Mrs Monsurat Amasa-Oyelude.
The notice quoted the chairman of LIRS, Mr Ayodele Subair, as saying that timely filing remains both a constitutional and statutory obligation as well as a civic responsibility.
The statutory filing requirement applies to all taxable persons, including self-employed individuals, business owners, professionals, persons in the informal sector, and employees under the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) scheme.
In accordance with Section 24(f) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sections 13 &14(3) of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 (NTAA), every individual with taxable income is required to submit a true and correct return of total income from all sources for the preceding year (January 1 to December 31, 2025) within 90 days of the commencement of a new assessment year.
“Filing of annual tax returns is not optional. It is a legal requirement under the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025. We encourage all Lagos residents earning taxable income to file early and accurately.
“Early and accurate filing not only ensures full adherence with statutory requirements, but supports effective monitoring and forecasting, which are critical to Lagos State’s fiscal planning and long-term sustainability,” Mr Subair stated.
He further noted that failure to file returns by the statutory deadline attracts administrative penalties, interest, and other enforcement measures as prescribed by law.
To enhance convenience and efficiency, all individual tax returns must be submitted electronically via the LIRS eTax portal at https://etax.lirs.net. The platform enables taxpayers to register, file returns, upload supporting documents, and manage their tax profiles securely from anywhere.
In keeping with global best practices, Mr Subair reiterated that LIRS continues to prioritise digital tax administration and taxpayer support services. He affirmed that the LIRS eTax platform is secure and accessible worldwide. Taxpayers requiring assistance may visit any of the LIRS offices or other channels.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has said the Gas Master Plan 2026 targets over 230 per cent scale-up of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supply from 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 5 MTPA this year.
The Executive Vice President for Gas, Power and New Energy at NNPC, Mr Olalekan Ogunleye, unveiled the strategic direction of the NNPC Gas Master Plan 2026, outlining an aggressive expansion drive to position Nigeria as a regional and global gas powerhouse.
Mr Ogunleye delivered the keynote address at the 2026 Lagos Energy Week, organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), where he detailed plans to accelerate gas development, deepen infrastructure and significantly scale domestic supply.
According to him, the Gas Master Plan targets a scale-up of LPG or cooking gas supply from 1.5 MTPA to 5 MTPA, alongside expanded feedstock for Mini-LNG and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) projects.
“The NNPC Gas Master Plan 2026 is a blueprint to unlock Nigeria’s vast gas potential and translate it into tangible economic value,” Mr Ogunleye said.
He added that the strategy would also drive exponential growth in Gas-Based Industries, GBIs, strengthening local manufacturing, fertiliser production and power generation.
“Our renewed focus is on turning abundant gas resources into inclusive economic growth and improved quality of life for Nigerians,” he stated.
Mr Ogunleye said the plan aligns with the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas initiative and the presidential production targets of achieving 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 12 BCF/D by 2030.
Industry leaders at the event, including executives from Chevron Corporation, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Midwestern Oil and Gas Company Limited, Abuja Gas Processing Company and Shell Nigeria Gas, commended the plan and praised Ogunleye’s leadership in driving implementation excellence.
The new blueprint signals NNPC’s determination to anchor Nigeria’s energy transition on gas, leveraging infrastructure expansion and domestic utilisation to consolidate the country’s status as Africa’s largest gas reserve holder.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Vice President Kashim Shettima has attributed the Naira’s recent depreciation to the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the foreign exchange (FX) market, stating that the currency could have strengthened to around N1,000 per Dollar within weeks if the apex bank had allowed market forces to prevail.
The local currency has dropped over N8.37 on the Dollar in the last week, as it closed at N1,355.37/$1 on Tuesday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), after it went on a spree late last month and into the early weeks of February.
However, speaking on Tuesday at the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Renewed Hope Ambassadors Strategic Summit in Abuja, the Nigerian VP said the intervention was to ensure stability.
“In fact, if not for the interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria yesterday, the 1,000 Naira to a Dollar we are going to attain in weeks, not in months. But for the purpose of market stability, the CBN generously intervened yesterday.
“So, for some of my friends, especially one of our party leaders who takes delight in stockpiling dollars, it is a wake-up call,” the vice president said.
He was alluding to CBN buying US Dollars from the market to slow down the rapid rise of the Naira.
Latest information showed that last week, the apex bank bought about $189.80 million to reduce excess Dollar supply and control how fast the Naira was gaining value.
The move was aimed at preventing foreign portfolio investors from exiting Nigeria’s fixed-income market, as large-scale sell-offs could heighten demand for US Dollars, intensify capital flight, and exert further pressure on the exchange rate.
Amid this, speaking after the 304th meeting of the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the CBN on Tuesday, Governor of the central bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, said Nigeria’s gross external reserves have risen to $50.45 billion, the highest level in 13 years.
This strengthens the country’s foreign exchange buffers, enhances the apex bank’s capacity to defend the Naira when needed, and boosts investor confidence in the stability of the Nigerian FX market.
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