Economy
Futures Pointing to Roughly Flat Open on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Monday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after ending last Friday?s trading mostly higher.
Traders may be reluctant to make any significant moves amid a lack of major U.S. economic news following the slew of data and events last week.
The economic calendar remains relatively light throughout the week, although traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on producer and consumer price inflation.
On the earnings front, Disney (DIS), Tyson Foods (TSN), Tenet Healthcare (THC), Office Depot (ODP), CVS Health (CVS), and 21st Century Fox (FOXA) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results this week.
Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday, as traders digested to the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fluctuated as the day progressed but managed to close in positive territory.
The major averages all closed higher, although the Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts after Thursday’s rally. While the Nasdaq inched up 9.33 points or 0.1 percent to 7,812.01, the Dow climbed 136.42 points or 0.5 percent at 25,462.58 and the S&P 500 rose 13.13 points or 0.5 percent to 2,840.35.
For the week, the Dow crept slightly higher, while the S&P 500 advanced by 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq jumped by 1 percent.
Before the start of trading, the Labor Department released a report showing weaker than expected job growth in the month of July due in part to a drop in government employment and the closing of Toys “R” Us stores.
The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 157,000 jobs in July compared to economist estimates for a jump of about 190,000 jobs.
However, the report also showed upward revisions to the increases in employment in May and June, which surged up by 268,000 jobs and 248,000 jobs, respectively.
With the upward revisions, employment gains in May and June combined were 59,000 more than previously reported.
The report also showed a modest decrease in the unemployment rate, which edged down to 3.9 percent in July from 4.0 percent in June. The drop matched economist estimates.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the annual rate of average hourly employee earnings growth was unchanged from the previous month at 2.7 percent.
Gregory Daco, Chief U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics, said gradually firming wages, steady labor force participation, and falling unemployment is expected to persist into the second half of the year.
“We expect around 180,000 jobs per month to be added through the rest of 2018,” Daco said. “In this context, we continue to foresee four Fed rate hikes in 2018, unless trade policy foils these plans.”
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of June amid an increase in imports and a decrease in exports.
The report said the trade deficit widened to $46.3 billion in June from a revised $43.2 billion in May. The deficit had been expected to widen to $46.5 billion from the $43.1 billion originally reported for the previous month.
The Institute for Supply Management also released a report showing growth in U.S. service sector activity slowed by much more than anticipated in the month of July.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index dropped to 55.7 in July after rising to 59.1 in June. A reading above 50 still indicates service sector growth, although economists had expected a much more modest drop to 58.6.
Despite the notable advance by the broader markets, many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.
Steel stocks saw considerable strength, however, with traders going bargain hunting following yesterday’s sell-off. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index climbed by 1.1 percent.
Utilities, retail, and chemical stocks also move to the upside on the day, while significant weakness was visible among biotechnology stocks.
Economy
46 Stocks Gain Weight, 53 Equities Lose on NGX in One Week
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was bullish last week despite investors’ mood swing, triggered by happenings in the country and across the globe, especially the Middle East crisis.
The All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation appreciated week-on-week by 3.94 per cent to 225,722.49 points and N145.335 trillion, respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of the growth and commodity indices, which depreciated by 0.02 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively, while the sovereign bond index closed flat.
A look at the price changes of shares in the five-day trading week showed that
46 stocks gained weight versus 61 stocks of the previous week, 53 equities shed weight compared with 36 equities a week earlier, and 47 shares closed flat, in contrast to 49 shares of the preceding week.
UAC Nigeria led the gainers’ chart after it chalked up 42.00 per cent to trade at N142.00, Union Dicon appreciated by 32.73 per cent to N21.90, NASCON expanded by 32.63 per cent to N206.90, Trans-Nationwide Express rose by 30.58 per cent to N7.90, and Zichis improved by 25.71 per cent to N15.60.
On the flip side, Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank led the losers’ group after it gave up 50.79 per cent to close at N9.35, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 33.33 per cent to N5.40, Guinea Insurance slipped by 15.20 per cent to N1.06, Stanbic IBTC lost 13.82 per cent to settle at N162.50, and Living Trust Mortgage Bank slumped by 10.98 per cent to N3.65.
As for the activity log, Customs Street recorded a turnover of 3.805 billion shares worth N213.955 billion in 297,202 deals in the week compared with 3.588 billion shares valued at N195.313 billion transacted in 254,553 deals in the previous week.
Financial stocks led the activity chart with 2.739 billion units sold for N106.269 billion in 135,101 deals, contributing 71.99 per cent and 49.67 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Services equities traded 212.324 million units worth N4.024 billion in 17,042 deals, and consumer goods shares exchanged 180.076 million units valued at N13.269 billion in 32,457 deals.
Access Holdings, UBA, and First Holdco were the busiest with 814.060 million units traded for N39.032 billion in 37,195 deals, contributing 21.40 per cent and 18.24 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
Economy
NGX Group’s 65th Annual General Meeting Holds April 29
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc has been fixed for Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 11:00 am at its corporate head office on 2–4 Customs Street, Lagos.
Business Post gathered that the meeting would be streamed live on the company’s website and social media platforms to enable broader participation by shareholders and stakeholders unable to attend physically.
As part of a special business, shareholders will consider a proposed bonus issue of one new ordinary share for every three existing shares held as at the close of business on April 10, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The proposal also includes an increase in the organisation’s share capital from N1,102,309,954 to N1,469,746,605, to accommodate the bonus shares and amendments to the Memorandum of Association to reflect the new capital structure.
Also at the gathering, shareholders will consider and, if deemed fit, approve the company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, alongside the reports of the directors, auditors, board evaluation consultants, and audit committee.
The meeting will also deliberate on the declaration of a final dividend and the re-election of three non-executive directors retiring by rotation, who are Mr Umaru Kwairanga, Mrs Ojinika Olaghere, and Dr Okechukwu Itanyi.
Other ordinary business items on the agenda include authorising the board to fix the remuneration of the external auditors, determining the remuneration of managers, and electing members of the statutory audit committee.
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