Economy
Futures Pointing to Mixed Open on Wall Street
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.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week stronger against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, March 16, by N8.46 or 0.62 per cent to trade at N1,357.77/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366.23/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N23.45 to quote at N1,789.54/£1 compared with last Friday’s value of N1,812.99/£1, and improved its value against the Euro by N9.72 to N1,558.31/€1 from N1,568.03/€1.
Similarly, the Naira gained N5 against the greenback in the parallel market during the trading session to sell for N1,395/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,400/$1, and closed flat at the GTBank FX desk at N1,385/$1.
The pressure that piled on the domestic currency appeared to have eased, buoyed by higher oil prices, which have continued to bolster market sentiment.
A report by Coronation Merchant Bank Research said Brent crude prices advanced by 11.16 per cent week-on-week, rising from $91.00 per barrel to close at $101.16 per barrel amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The bank noted that developments in the region heightened concerns about potential disruptions to global oil supply, increasing volatility in energy markets.
Nigeria recorded modest portfolio inflows as investors sought higher-yielding opportunities, but the inflows helped support liquidity in the FX market and contributed to the Naira’s recovery during the past week.
Also, Nigeria’s inflation cooled to 15.06 per cent in February 2026 from 15.10 per cent in January 2026, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices continued to weigh the tensions around the Strait of Hormuz — a critical oil shipping route between the Persian Gulf and global markets — appeared to ease slightly.
US President Donald Trump called on other nations to help secure the waterway, while some tankers reportedly have crossed the Strait, suggesting that traffic through the corridor has not been fully disrupted.
This weakened some coins, including Dogecoin (DOGE), which slumped by 1.7 per cent to $0.0998, and Cardano (ADA), which depreciated 1.6 per cent to $0.2832. Binance Coin (BNB) lost 1.5 per cent to sell for $674.25, TRON (TRX) declined by 0.6 per cent to $0.2964, and Solana (SOL) dropped 0.2 per cent to $93.66.
On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) jumped 2.2 per cent to $1.51, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 1.5 per cent to $2,302.08, and Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 0.1 per cent to $73,951.40, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited reached an all-time high of 201,474.89 points on Monday after adding 3,067.59 points or 1.55 per cent to its previous closing figures of 198,407.30 points.
Buying pressure in three of the five key sectors sustained the upward trend on Customs Street during the trading session, analysis of the market data revealed.
The industrial goods sector appreciated by 4.52 per cent, the banking index improved by 2.20 per cent, and the consumer goods space rose by 0.03 per cent.
However, the insurance sector experienced profit-taking, which crashed it by 0.43 per cent, and the energy counter lost 0.08 per cent due to sell-offs.
When the bourse ended for the day, the market capitalisation chalked up N1.969 trillion to settle at N129.330 trillion compared with last Friday’s M127.361 trillion.
BUA Cement led the advancers’ group yesterday after growing by 10.00 per cent to N297.00, Premier Paints jumped 9.79 per cent to N21.30, John Holt expanded by 9.52 per cent to N10.35, Guinea Insurance soared by 9.38 per cent to N1.40, and Fortis Global Insurance grew by 9.32 per cent to N1.29.
On the flip side, VFD Group led the laggards’ gang after it gave up 10.00 per cent to close at N11.25, Royal Exchange shed 9.63 per cent to settle at N1.69, Omatek depreciated by 9.62 per cent to N2.35, Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 9.00 per cent to quote at N1.92, and Regency Alliance slipped by 8.94 per cent to N1.12.
Yesterday, a total of 948.2 million stocks valued at N49.2 billion were traded in 72,735 deals compared with 591.0 million stocks worth N35.0 billion transacted in 53,066 deals in the preceding session, representing an improvement in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 60.44 per cent, 40.57 per cent, and 37.07 per cent apiece.
The activity log was led by Sovereign Trust Insurance, which traded 72.6 million equities valued at N147.1 million, Access Holdings sold 69.9 million shares for N1.8 billion, First Holdco exchanged 67.0 million stocks worth N3.4 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 60.0 million equities valued at N6.0 billion, and Nigerian Breweries exchanged 55.0 million shares worth N4.0 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market was down about 3 per cent on Monday after some vessels sailed through the critical Strait of Hormuz that has been largely shut down during the escalating war with Iran.
Iran has allowed some Indian vessels to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, sinking Brent futures by $2.93 or 2.8 per cent to $100.21 a barrel, as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude drowned $5.21 or 5.3 per cent to settle at $93.50 per barrel.
The country also asked India to release three tankers seized in February as part of talks seeking the safe passage of Indian‑flagged or India‑bound vessels through the strait.
This was confirmed by the US with Treasury Secretary, Mr Scott Bessent, saying the US is fine with some Iranian, Indian and Chinese ships going through the Strait of Hormuz for now, adding that any action to mitigate higher prices would depend on how long the war lasts.
Meanwhile, allies rebuffed US President Donald Trump’s call for help in unblocking the strait. He said his administration has contacted roughly seven countries that rely heavily on Middle Eastern crude shipments and expects them to help secure the route.
The majority of crude moving through the strait ultimately heads to Asian markets, including China, India, Japan and South Korea.
According to the Associated Press, Chinese officials declined to directly address the request when asked during a daily briefing on Monday, instead reiterating their broader call for de-escalation in the region.
The Executive Director of the International Energy Information (EIA), Mr Fatih Birol, said on Monday that member countries could release more oil into the market from strategic stockpiles after they agreed to the largest-ever release of 400 million barrels last week.
The European Union (EU) foreign ministers are discussing on Monday the potential to move an already operational mission in the Middle East region to try to help unblock the Strait.
President Trump also threatened further strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, which handles about 90 per cent of the country’s exports, after hitting military targets there that spurred further retaliation from Iran. On its part, Israel said it has detailed plans for at least three more weeks of war.
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