Economy
Rising Middle East Tensions May Weigh on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Tuesday, with stocks poised to add to the modest losses posted in the previous session. Concerns about rising tensions in the Middle East may weigh on the markets after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar.
The move by the three major Persian Gulf countries came amid accusations of Qatar meddling in their internal affairs and supporting terrorism.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister indicated Tuesday the country would like to give Kuwait’s Emir the ability to mediate and contain the crisis.
Responding to the developments in a post on Twitter, President Donald Trump said, “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!”
The news out of the Middle East may add to uncertainty ahead of key events later this week, including the U.K. election, the ECB meeting and former FBI Director James Comey’s congressional testimony.
Following the strength that was seen last week, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading session on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the session modestly lower. The Dow slipped 22.25 points or 0.1 percent to 21,184.04, the Nasdaq dipped 10.11 points or 0.2 percent to 6,295.68 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.97 points or 0.1 percent to 2,436.10.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength.
The upward move seen over the course of the previous week lifted all three of the major averages to new record closing highs.
Traders may be looking ahead to highly anticipated congressional testimony by former FBI Director James Comey scheduled for Thursday.
Comey is expected to be questioned about his communications with President Donald Trump amid claims the president urged him to drop a federal investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing a modest slowdown in the pace of growth in the service sector in the month of May.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index edged down to 56.9 in May from 57.5 in April, although a reading above 50 indicates continued growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to dip to 57.0.
“Although the non-manufacturing sector’s growth rate dipped in May, the sector continues to reflect strength, buoyed by the strong rate of growth in the Employment Index,” said Anthony Nieves, Chair of the ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
He added, “The majority of respondents’ comments continue to indicate optimism about business conditions and the overall economy.”
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed a modest drop in factory orders in April, while revised data from the Labor Department showed that labor productivity was unchanged in the first quarter.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.
Biotechnology stocks came under considerable selling pressure, however, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index sliding by 1.3 percent. The index gave back ground after moving sharply higher over the three previous sessions.
Railroad and housing stocks also saw some weakness on the day, while gold stocks moved to the upside over the course of the session.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s maiden shipment under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has successfully arrived at the Mombasa Port in Kenya.
According to the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office in a statement, the development marks a historic moment for Africa’s trade landscape.
The Senior Trade Expert at the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, Mr Olusegun Olutayo, said in line with its mandate under the leadership of the National Coordinator, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, the office had coordinated the landmark event.
He said the achievement marked a significant milestone for Nigeria in realising the vision of increased intra-African trade and economic integration championed by the agreement in line with the decision of the AU Assembly at the 31st Ordinary Session of the Assembly.
“In times of escalating geopolitical tension and looming geo-economic fragmentation, AfCFTA presents a perfect opportunity for Africa to leverage trade as a strategic instrument for enhanced market access among state parties.
“This is a historic moment, a realisation of the vision of our continent’s founding fathers and mothers.”
He also said the first consignment which was a synthetic filaments product of Nigeria’s Lucky Fibres Limited (Lush), a subsidiary of the Tolaram Group, was exported under AfCFTA preferential terms.
Mr Olutayo lauded the bold economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu, emphasising their catalytic role in enabling the country’s active participation in AfCFTA, fostering continental economic integration and industrialisation goals.
He also commended the seamless cooperation and commitment from Kenyan authorities, which exemplifies the true spirit of AfCFTA.
He acknowledged the pivotal leadership role of the AfCFTA Secretariat in fostering the success and emphasised the collaborative efforts of the Kenya AfCFTA Implementation Committee and the Kenya Revenue Authority (Customs).
According to him, the shipment, exported under AfCFTA preferential trade terms, underscores partnership, shared vision, the agreement’s potential to transform Africa’s economic landscape and pave the way for a new era of trade-driven prosperity.
The AfCFTA seeks to create a single market across Africa by reducing barriers to trade, investment, and labour.
The agreement’s goal is to increase socioeconomic development, reduce poverty, and make Africa more competitive globally.
On March 21, 2018, the AfCFTA agreement was adopted and opened for signature in Kigali, Rwanda. The agreement entered into force on May 30, 2019 and officially commenced on January 2021
Former President Muhammadu Buhari established the National Action Committee on AfCFTA (NAC) in December 2019.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fixed January 31 as deadline for all Capital Market Operators (CMOs) to renew their operating licence.
In a circular to the operators on Sunday, the apex regulatory agency in the country’s capital market said the annual registration renewal would last between January 1 and 31, 2025.
SEC said the annual registration renewal enforcement for CMOs was aimed at ensuring that only “fit and proper” persons operate in the capital market, warning that CMOs without valid registration will be penalised and may be excluded from capital market activities.
”This is to inform all CMOs and the general public that the annual renewal of registration of CMOs for the year 2025 will commence from January 01.
“All CMOs applying for renewal are required to include their 2025 annual subscription receipt from their respective trade groups as part of their application.
“In line with the commission’s Rules & Regulations, all CMOs are to complete the process of renewal of registration for 2025 on or before January 31 via registration renewal portal at www.eportal.sec.gov.ng,” it said.
The commission added that CMOs desiring to make enquiries or get support to complete the process should contact [email protected].
The regulator said it had in 2021 re-introduced periodic registration renewal by CMOs to create a reliable active operators’ data bank in the country’s capital market.
It said the renewal arrangement aimed at updating operators information on capital market for official use by local and foreign investors, other regulatory agencies and the public.
The agency added that the renewals would drastically reduce incidences of unethical practices by CMOs which may affect investors’ confidence and impact the capital market negatively, noting that the exercise will strengthen supervision and monitoring of CMOs by the commission.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The third trading week of 2025 ended on a positive note at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, with seven equities on the platform inspiring a 1.24 per cent growth.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N21.56 billion during the five-day trading week to N1.075 trillion from the N1.053 trillion quoted in the preceding week (Week 2) as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) expanded by 37.98 points to 3,111.91 points from the 3,073.93 points it ended in the preceding week.
In the period under review, the volume of transactions went down by 42.1 per cent to 9.45 million units from the 16.30 million units in the previous week, as the value of trades declined by 53.1 per cent to N48.4 million from the N104.11 million, with these transactions completed in 122 deals involving 15 different stocks.
Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 50 per cent in the week to close at 36 Kobo per share versus 34 Kobo per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc increased by 20 per cent to end at N2.58 per unit compared with the previous week’s N2.15 per unit, and Okitipupa Plc rose by 10 per cent to N39.59 per share from N35.99 per share.
Further, UBN Property Plc grew by 10 per cent to N2.20 per unit from N2.02 per unit, Newrest Asl Plc jumped by 9.9 per cent to N31.38 per share from N28.53 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc surged by 3.7 per cent to N39.65 per unit from N38.22 per unit, and 11 Plc advanced by 0.3 per cent to N256.00 per share from N255.31 per share.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc topped the activity chart last week by value with with N0.030 billion, 11 Plc recorded N0.009 billion, Central Security Clearing System (CSCS) Plc raked in N0.004 billion, IGI Plc followed with N0.002 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc recorded N0.002 billion.
However, IGI Plc was the most traded instrument by volume with 7.5 million units, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc transacted 0.77 million units, UBN Property Plc recorded 0.38 million, Geo-Fluids Plc traded 0.37 million units, and CSCS Plc posted 0.16 million units.
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