Economy
Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street
Investors Hub
The major US index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Monday, as traders may be reluctant to make any significant moves.
Ahead of the Good Friday holiday, traders may stick to the sidelines early on amid a relatively quiet day on the U.S. economic front.
With traders digesting mixed jobs data as well as developments overseas, stocks showed a lack of throughout much of the trading session on Friday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the session slightly lower. The Dow edged down 6.85 points or less than 0.1 percent to 20,656.10, the Nasdaq slipped 1.14 points or less than 0.1 percent to 5,877.81 and the S&P 500 fell 1.95 points or 0.1 percent to 2,355.54.
For the week, the Dow closed nearly flat, while the Nasdaq slid by 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 dipped by 0.3 percent.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing much weaker than expected job growth in March but also an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 98,000 jobs in March after surging up by a revised 219,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected an increase of about 180,000 jobs.
Despite the weaker than expected job growth, the unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent in March from 4.7 percent in February. The unemployment rate had been expected to come in unchanged.
With the unexpected decrease, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since hitting 4.4 percent in May of 2007.
ING Senior Economist James Knightley noted employment has risen by 920,000 in the past two months using the household survey.
“So there is a real contradiction with the employment survey, which will only add to the confusion on how to interpret the report,” Knightley said.
Traders were also keeping an eye on developments overseas after the U.S. launched a missile strike on a Syrian airbase overnight.
Reports said U.S. warships in the Mediterranean Sea launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles targeting the al-Shayrat airbase in central Syria.
President Donald Trump claimed a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held Syrian town earlier this week was launched from the airbase that was struck.
Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was also in focus, although the summit was largely overshadowed by the attack on Syria.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lacklustre close by the broader markets.
Oil service stocks saw considerable weakness, however, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index sliding by 1.2 percent. The index pulled back after ending the previous session at its best closing level in a month. The weakness among oil service stocks came despite an increase by the price of crude oil.
Natural gas and trucking stocks also saw some weakness on the day, while strength was visible among biotechnology stocks.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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