Economy
Futures Pointing to Modestly Higher Open on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
Major U.S. index futures are pointing to a modestly higher opening on Thursday following the mixed performance seen in the previous session.
The upward momentum on Wall Street comes following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing an unexpected drop in initial jobless claims in the week ended October 28th.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed a bigger than expected increase in labor productivity in the third quarter, with output jumping by much more than hours worked.
Traders are also digesting the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates for the first time in over a decade.
Later in the day, trading may be impacted by President Donald Trump’s expected announcement of his nominee as the next Federal Reserve Chair.
Multiple media sources have reported that Trump intends to nominate Fed Governor Jerome Powell to replace current Fed Chair Janet Yellen.
House Republicans are also expected to unveil the draft of their tax reform legislation after postponing the release by a day due to disagreements about how to offset the cost of the nearly $6 trillion in tax cuts included in the bill.
Stocks turned mixed over the course of the trading session on Wednesday after initially moving to the upside. The major averages reached record intraday highs early in the session before giving back ground.
The major averages ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq edged down 11.14 points or 0.2 percent to 6,716.53, the Dow rose 57.77 points or 0.3 percent to 23,435.01 and the S&P 500 inched up 4.10 points or 0.2 percent to 2,579.36.
The mixed close on Wall Street came following the Federal Reserve’s announcement of its latest monetary policy decision.
The Fed left interest rates unchanged as widely expected and offered support for the December rate hike that most economists are predicting.
The statement from the central bank said data received since the September meeting indicates the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising at a solid rate despite hurricane-related disruptions.
The Fed said inflation for items other than food and energy remained soft but continued to predict inflation would stabilize around its 2 percent objective over the medium term.
The central bank also reiterated its expectation that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant gradual increases in the federal funds rate.
“Given the strong economy and jobs market, inflation pressures gradually building and Fed officials broadening out the reasons behind hiking – such as financial conditions, asset valuations and financial stability issues – we are still sticking to our view of a December rate hike,” said ING Senior Economist James Knightley.
He added, “This is 80% priced in by financial markets with the main risk coming from the potential for an economically damaging government shutdown in the absence of an agreement to raise the debt ceiling.”
Earlier in the day, payroll processor ADP released a report showing stronger than expected private sector job growth in the month of October.
ADP said private sector employment climbed by 235,000 jobs in October after rising by a downwardly revised 110,000 jobs in September.
Economists had expected an increase of about 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 135,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The bigger than expected increase came after private sector employment grew at its slowest rate in nearly a year in September.
A separate report from the Institute for Supply Management showed a slowdown in the pace of growth in the manufacturing sector in October.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index fell to 58.7 in October from 60.8 in September, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 59.5.
The bigger than expected pullback by the manufacturing index came after it jumped to its highest level in over thirteen years in the previous month.
Natural gas stocks turned in a strong performance on the day, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index jumping by 2.2 percent. With the gain, the index ended the session at its best closing level in almost a month.
Within the natural gas sector, Devon Energy (DVN) posted a standout gain after reporting third quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
Notable strength was also visible among other energy stocks even though the price of crude oil for December delivery edged lower.
Steel stocks also showed a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 1 percent. U.S. Steel (X) led the sector higher after reporting better than expected third quarter results.
On the other hand, telecom stocks saw substantial weakness, dragging the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index down by 2.8 percent. The index ended finished the day at its lowest closing level in well over a year.
Frontier Communications (FTR) posted a steep loss after reporting a narrower than expected third quarter loss but weaker than expected revenues.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) shared a total of N1.678 trillion in March 2025 to the three tiers of government as federation allocation from the revenue generated by the nation in February 2025.
A statement from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) after its meeting for this month, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, disclosed that the amount generated stood at N2.344 trillion, comprising Gross Statutory Revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT), Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), an argumentation of N178 billion and revenues from Solid Minerals.
It was revealed that the federal government was given N569.656 billion, the states received N562.195 billion, the local government councils got N410.559 billion, while the oil-producing states shared N136.042 billion as 13 per cent derivation of mineral revenue.
The statement further disclosed that VAT for the month was N609.430 billion versus N771.886 billion in the preceding month, with the federal government receiving N91.415 billion, the states getting N304.715 billion, and the councils sharing N213.301 billion.
FAAC presented N1.653 trillion as gross statutory revenue for last month, lower than the N1.848 trillion recorded a month earlier, with N61.449 billion used for the cost of collection and N736.249 billion for transfers, intervention and refunds.
When the balance of N827.633 billion was shared, the federal government got N366.262 billion, the states received N185.773 billion, and the councils got N143.223 billion, while the oil-producing states shared N132.374 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
Also, the sum of N35.171 billion from EMTL was distributed, with the federal government receiving N5.276 billion, the states sharing N17.585 billion, and the local government councils getting N12.310 billion, while N1.465 billion was for the cost of collection.
Further, N28.218 billion was generated from solid minerals and the central government got N12.933 billion, the states received N6.560 billion, the LGCs got N5.057 billion, and the oil-producing states shared N3.668 billion.
In addition, from the N178 billion augmentation, the national government received N93.770 billion, the states got N47.562 billion, and the local councils received N36.668 billion.
It was observed that revenues from VAT, Petroleum Profit Tax, Companies Income Tax, excise duty, import duty and CET Levies declined in February, while earnings from EMTL and oil and gas royalty increased significantly.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The 1.7 million barrels of jet fuel exported from the Dangote refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, have arrived at US ports, according to data from ship-tracking service, Kpler.
It was reported that another vessel, Hafnia Andromeda, is set to arrive at the Everglades terminal on March 29 with a load of about 348,000 barrels of jet fuel, the data showed.
US jet fuel imports are set to hit a two-year high in March after the refinery pushed barrels to North America and Europe.
Total US jet fuel imports so far in March stood at around 226,000 barrels per day, the most since February 2023, the data showed.
The development comes amid controversies surrounding the sale and availability of crude oil to the refinery and Premium Motor Spirit or petrol supply to the Nigerian market.
Nigeria’s decision to cancel the Naira-for-crude deal with the refinery has since created panic in the hearts of marketers and consumers alike.
The 650,000 barrels per day refinery has also suspended selling petrol in Naira to marketers.
It lamented that there was a mismatch between its sales proceeds and its crude oil purchase obligations, which it said are currently denominated in US Dollars.
“Dear valued customers, we wish to inform you that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has temporarily halted the sale of petroleum products in naira. This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars.
“To date, our sales of petroleum products in naira have exceeded the value of naira-denominated crude we have received. As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the firm announced.
The announcement has since triggered a rise in the cost of loading petrol at private depots in Lagos to about N900 per litre from below N850 per litre before.
The Dangote refinery started production last January after years of construction delays and ramped up to about 85 per cent of capacity in early February, allowing it to sell more fuel to international markets.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange crumbled by 0.57 per cent on Monday, March 24 after four stocks on the trading platform closed lower.
Okitipupa Plc gave up N22.66 during the session to settle at N285.00 per unit compared with the N307.66 per unit it was sold last Friday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost 17 Kobo to trade at N37.00 per share versus N37.17 per share, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 14 Kobo to close at N1.35 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N1.49 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc declined by 2 Kobo to finish at 35 Kobo per share, in contrast to the preceding trading day’s 37 Kobo per share.
Conversely, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved its value by 69 Kobo to sell at N23.53 per unit versus N22.84 per unit and UBN Property Plc gained 20 Kobo to quote at N2.20 per share, in contrast to the previous value of N2.00 per share.
When the bourse ended for the session, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went down by 19.09 points to 3,339.52 points from the previous trading day’s 3,358.61 points, and the market capitalisation shrank by N11.03 billion to N1.928 trillion from N1.939 trillion.
The volume of securities traded at the NASD yesterday rose by 216.1 per cent to 961,456 units from the 304,188 units recorded last Friday, and the value of securities went up by 116.3 per cent to N22.1 million from N10.2 million, while the number of deals depreciated by 31.3 per cent to 22 deals from 32 deals.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 13.3 million units valued at N513.7 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.6 million units sold for N360.1 million.
Impresit Bakolori Plc was also the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units valued at N520.9 million, trailed by IGI Plc with 70.0 million units sold for N23.8 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 44.1 million units worth N88.9 million.
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