Economy

Futures Pointing to Mixed Open on Wall Street

Published

7 years ago

11/03/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Monday following the pullback seen by the major averages last week.

A steep drop by shares of Boeing (BA) is likely to weigh on the Dow, as the aerospace giant is plunging by more than 10 percent in pre-market trading.

Boeing is under pressure following the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which is the second crash in five months involving the company?s 737 Max 8 model.

Meanwhile, the broader Nasdaq and S&P 500 may move to the upside following the release of a report from the Commerce Department showing an unexpected uptick in U.S. retail sales in January.

After an initial move to the downside, stocks staged a few recovery attempts over the course of the trading session on Friday. The major averages rallied going into the close of trading but still ended the day modestly lower.

The Dow edged down 22.99 points or 0.1 percent to 25,450.24, the Nasdaq dipped 13.32 points or 0.2 percent to 7,408.14 and the S&P 500 slipped 5.86 points or 0.2 percent to 2,743.07. With the drop, the major averages extended the pullback seen over the past few sessions.

For the week, the Dow and the S&P 500 both slumped by 2.2 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled by 2.5 percent.

The initial weakness on Wall Street came after a report from the Labor Department revealed job growth nearly ground to a halt in February after soaring in January.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment edged up by 20,000 jobs in February after jumping by an upwardly revised 311,000 jobs in January.

Economists had expected employment to increase by about 180,000 jobs compared to the spike of 304,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The much weaker than expected job growth in February represented the worst month since the loss of 18,000 jobs in September of 2017, when employment was impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

However, FTN Financial Chief Economist Chris Low said the stark contrast between the January and February data suggests a “seasonal adjustment breakdown rather than a change in economic performance.”

“The three month average, 186k, is respectable, and far more realistic than either the 311k rise in January or the 20k rise in February,” Low said.

The report also showed the unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent in February from 4.0 percent in January, while the annual rate of wage growth accelerated to 3.4 percent from 3.1 percent.

The jobs data largely overshadowed a separate report from the Commerce Department showing a substantial rebound in housing starts in January.

The report said housing starts soared by 18.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.230 million in January after plunging by 14.0 percent to a revised rate of 1.037 million in December.

Economists had expected housing starts to jump by 11 percent to a rate of 1.197 million from the 1.078 million originally reported for the previous month.

The Commerce Department said building permits also rose by 1.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.345 million in January after inching up by 0.3 percent to 1.326 million in December.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to drop by 2.8 percent to a rate of 1.289 million.

Concerns about the global economy also weighed on the markets after the European Central Bank downgraded its GDP forecasts and China reported weaker than expected trade data for February.

Energy stocks saw substantial weakness on the day amid a drop by the price of crude oil amid concerns about global demand.

Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plunged by 3 percent, while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index tumbled by 2.6 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

Concerns about global demand also weighed on the steel sector, as reflected by the 1.7 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.

Meanwhile, gold stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session amid a jump by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index spiking by 3.5 percent.

Economy

Crypto Investor Bamu Gift Wandji of Polyfarm in EFCC Custody

Published

19 hours ago

31/01/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A cryptocurrency investor and owner of Polyfarm, Mr Bamu Gift Wandji, is currently cooling off in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He was handed over to the anti-money laundering agency by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday, January 30, 2026, after his arrest on Monday, January 12, 2026.

A statement from the EFCC yesterday disclosed that the suspect was apprehended by the NSCDC in Gwagwalada, Abuja for running an investment scheme without the authorisation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria.

It was claimed that Mr Wandji created a fraudulent crypto investment platform called Polyfarm, where he allegedly lured innocent Nigerians to invest in Polygon, a crypto token that attracts high returns.

Investigation further revealed that he also deceived the public that his project, Polyfarm, has its native token called “polyfarm coin” which he sold to the public.

In his bid to promote the scheme, the suspect posted about this on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, X (formally Twitter) and Telegram. He also conducted seminars in some major cities in Nigeria including Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where he described the scheme as a life-changing programme.

Further investigation revealed that in October, 2025, subscribers who could not access their funds were informed by the suspect that the site was attacked by Lazarus group, a cyber attacking group linked to North Korea.

Further investigations showed that Polyfarm is not registered and not licensed with SEC to carry out crypto transactions in Nigeria. Also, no investment happened with subscribers’ funds and that the suspect used funds paid by subscribers to pay others in the name of profit.

Investigation also revealed that native coin, polyfarm coin was never listed on coin market cap and that the suspect sold worthless coins to the general public.

Contrary to the claim of the suspect that his platform was attacked, EFCC’s investigations revealed that the platform was never attacked or hacked by anyone and that the suspect withdrew investors’ funds and utilized the same for his personal gains.

The EFCC, in the statement, disclosed that Mr Wandji would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

Economy

Nigerian Stocks Shed 0.09% on Mild Profit-Taking

Published

19 hours ago

31/01/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Profit-takers pounced on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, weakening it by 0.09 per cent at the close of transactions.

Investors toned down on their hunger for Nigerian stocks during the last trading session of the week, with selling pressure mainly on the banking space, which shed 0.78 per cent.

The bourse crumbled despite the other sectors closing green, with the consumer goods up by 0.10 per cent, and the energy index up by 0.02 per cent, while the industrial index closed flat.

Livestock Feeds depreciated by 10.00 per cent to sell for N6.30, Learn Africa declined by 10.00 per cent to N8.10, Living Trust Mortgage Bank also slipped by 10.00 per cent to N4.05, Deap Capital gave up 9.97 per cent to trade at N9.39, and Industrial and Medical Gases lost 9.61 per cent to finish at N31.50.

On the flip side, Zichis appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N4.19, Abbey Mortgage Bank gained 9.94 per cent to quote at N9.40, RT Briscoe jumped by 9.93 per cent to N7.86, Haldane McCall grew by 9.90 per cent to N4.33, and Omatek increased by 9.87 per cent to N3.00.

Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive despite the poor outcome, recording 33 price gainers and 31 price losers, representing strong investor sentiment.

The All-Share Index was down by 156.91 points during the session to 165,370.40 points from the 165,527.31 points achieved a day earlier, and the market capitalisation depleted by N184 billion to N106.153 trillion from N105.969 trillion.

Trading data showed that 687.4 million equities valued at N15.0 billion exchanged hands in 41,553 deals yesterday compared with the 691.4 million equities worth N15.4 billion traded in 38,665 deals on Thursday, implying a jump in the number of deals by 7.47 per cent, and a slip in the trading volume and value by 2.60 per cent, respectively.

The busiest stock on Friday was Veritas Kapital with 80.5 million units worth N197.0 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 79.3 million units valued at N87.5 million, Deap capital transacted 33.3 million units for N340.5 million, Access Holdings sold 31.0 million units valued at N703.0 million, and Zenith Bank exchanged 30.6 million units worth N2.2 billion.

Economy

NASD Exchange Rises 0.20%

Published

23 hours ago

31/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated by 0.20 per cent on Friday, January 30, supported by the gains achieved by two securities on the platform.

During the session, Okitipupa Plc went up by N15.70 to finish at N234.60 per share versus the previous day’s N218.90 per share and Paintcomm Investment Plc expanded by 5 Kobo to close at N11.05 per unit compared with the previous day’s N11.00 per unit.

It was observed that yesterday, there were three price losers led by Geo-Fluids Plc, which dropped 60 Kobo to sell at N5.75 per share versus N6.35 per share, Afriland Properties Plc declined by 35 Kobo to close at N13.65 per unit compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.00 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc depreciated by 3 Kobo to 66 Kobo per share from 69 Kobo per share.

At the close of business, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 7.34 points to 3,630.11 points from 3,622.77 points and the market capitalisation grew by N4.39 billion to N2.171 trillion from N2.167 trillion.

A total of 287,618 units of securities exchanged hands on Friday compared with the previous day’s 1.9 million units of securities, indicating a decline in the volume of trades by 85.6 per cent.

The value of transactions, according to data, was down by 77.2 per cent to N3.1 million from N13.4 million, but the number of deals increased by 31.3 per cent to 21 deals from 16 deals.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units exchanged for N623.0 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.6 million units traded for N108.5 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N61.1 million.

CSCS Plc also ended the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units sold for N623.0 million, followed by Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 10.1 million units worth N4.1 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N61.1 million.