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, with stocks likely to see further upside following the rebound seen over the course of the previous session.
The markets may benefit from easing concerns about a potential trade war between the U.S. and China, which have recently led to considerable volatility on Wall Street.
The U.S. and China have recently engaged in tit-for-tat tariff announcements, although traders seem optimistic that the threats are only a precursor to negotiations of a trade agreement between the two countries.
Nonetheless, overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to the release of the Labor Department?s more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Employment is expected to increase by 198,000 jobs in March after spiking by 313,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 4.0 percent from 4.1 percent.
Stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading session on Wednesday after moving sharply lower at the open. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session and firmly into positive territory.
The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but still ended the day sharply higher. The Dow jumped 230.94 points or 1 percent to 24,264.30, the Nasdaq soared 100.83 points or 1.5 percent to 7,042.11 and the S&P 500 surged up 30.24 points or 1.2 percent to 2,644.69.
The rebound on Wall Street came as traders shrugged off trade war concerns that initially weighed on the markets following news China issued a list of 106 U.S. products that will be subject to additional tariffs.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of U.S. exports, including aircraft, cars, and soybeans.
The announcement by China came shortly after the U.S. Trade Representative published a proposed list of products imported from China that could be subject to additional tariffs.
The publication of the list came after President Donald Trump announced last month that he planned to impose about $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods over intellectual-property violations.
The USTR said the sectors subject to the proposed tariffs include industries such as aerospace, information and communication technology, robotics, and machinery.
While critics have complained the administration’s policies risk starting a trade war, Trump argued in a post on Twitter that the war had already been lost.
“We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S.,” Trump tweeted.
He added, “Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!”
On the U.S. economic front, payroll processor ADP released a report showing stronger than expected private sector job growth in the month of March.
ADP said employment surged up by 241,000 jobs in March after jumping by an upwardly revised 246,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected an increase of about 205,000 jobs.
A separate report from the Institute for Supply Management showed a modest slowdown in the pace of growth in the service sector in the month of March.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index dipped to 58.8 in March from 59.5 in February, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 59.0.
Housing stocks showed a substantial move to the upside over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 3.4 percent.
Lennar (LEN) led the housing sector higher after the homebuilder reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Significant strength also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The index climbed further off the nearly three-month closing low set on Monday.
Tobacco, telecom, retail and healthcare stocks also moved notably higher as the day progressed, contributing to the turnaround by the broader markets.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited sank deeper by 0.06 per cent on Thursday on the back of sustained profit-taking, particularly in the banking, energy and consumer goods sectors.
Business Post reports that the N4 per share dividend declared by Zenith Bank for the 2024 fiscal year yesterday could not trigger bargain-hunting as investor sentiment was weak.
It was observed that 22 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart and 28 stocks finished on the losers’ table, representing a negative market breadth index.
John Holt lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N7.74, Chams declined by 8.52 per cent to N2.04, Secure Electronic Technology shed 8.47 per cent to close at 54 Kobo, May and Baker slipped by 7.95 per cent to N8.10, and UPDC stumbled by 6.90 per cent to N2.70.
However, The Initiates gained 9.85 per cent to settle at N4.46, Mutual Benefits grew by 9.09 per cent to 96 Kobo, Universal Insurance climbed higher by 9.09 per cent to 60 Kobo, Royal Exchange rose by 8.99 per cent to 97 Kobo, and Learn Africa increased by 8.14 per cent to N3.32.
The insurance index was up during the session by 0.09 per cent, and the industrial goods counter marginally closed higher by 0.01 per cent, while the commodity sector was flat.
But, the banking space went down by 0.96 per cent, the energy industry depreciated by 0.35 per cent, and the consumer goods sector declined by 0.20 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 59.87 points to 105,426.12 points from 105,485.99 points, and the market capitalisation depleted by N38 billion to N66.110 trillion from N66.148 trillion.
A total of 423.6 million shares worth N9.2 billion were transacted in 11,393 deals on Thursday versus the 5.8 billion shares valued at N342.6 billion bought and sold in 10,908 deals on Wednesday, showing a rise in the number of deals by 4.45 per cent, and a fall in the trading volume and value by 92.65 per cent, and 97.32 per cent apiece.
The activity log was topped by Access Holdings with 65.0 million equities for N1.4 billion, Zenith Bank sold 41.5 million stocks for N2.0 billion, Fidelity Bank transacted 40.7 million shares worth N773.2 million, Secure Electronic Technology traded 38.4 million stocks valued at N20.8 million, and Tantalizers exchanged 31.5 million equities worth N89.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has launched a locally developed portal to enhance trade transparency, efficiency, and compliance.
The portal, called B-Odogwu, will provide a unified system for stakeholders, including shippers, terminal operators, and traders, to access and manage their information system.
According to a statement, the Comptroller Kano/Jigawa Command, Dalhat Abubakar, unveiled the program in Kano on Tuesday and described it as a safer, faster, and indigenous-owned system designed by the NCS for easy transactions.
He said the introduction of the B-Odogwu system was a significant step towards achieving a single National entry window and promoting transparency in trade facilitation.
According to him, “The new system is designed to ensure reliability, transparency, and compliance in trade facilitation.”
Mr Abubakar, however, stressed that the NCS has demonstrated competence and dedication in transitioning from service providers to the new system.
He added that the key features and benefits of the B-Odogwu system include faster processing and reduced downtime, enhanced reliability, and transparency.
Other benefits are improved compliance and reduced lack of compliance, a single national entry window with a single data movement, and trade facilitation and transparency.
He disclosed that “The NCS has commenced training for terminal operators, shippers, traders, and licensed agents to ensure a smooth transition to the new system.”
He further stated that “Over 16,000 declarations have been made on the B-Odogwu system since its introduction in January 2025.”
By Dipo Olowookere
The much-awaited listing of shares of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited may happen soon as the state-owned oil agency has expressed its readiness to join the nation’s capital market.
At a consultative meeting with partners at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, on Thursday, the Chief Finance and Investor Relations Officer (CFIO) of the NNPC, Mr Olugbenga Oluwaniy, said the process of listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is at the final stage.
The NNPC is required to make its stocks available to members of the public based on the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The PIA provides for the NNPC Ltd to list its shares in the capital market in line with the provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990.
This exercise should have happened, but it has been delayed, but with the latest information, the wait may soon be over.
Mr Oluwaniyi, via a statement today by the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr Olufemi Soneye, disclosed that NNPC was currently engaging with prospective partners in an exercise tagged NNPC Ltd. IPO Beauty Parade in line with capital market regulations before the commencement of the Initial Public Offer (IPO).
According to the CFIO, the aim of the IPO Beauty Parade is to access potential partners and determine in what ways they could be of support to the company.
He listed the areas of partnership required to include Investor Relations, IPO Readiness Advisers, and Investment Bank Partners, noting that the organisation with the best offer in terms of project partnership would be selected for each of the three categories.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN