Economy

Trade Concerns May Lead to Continued Choppy Trading on Wall Street

Published

8 years ago

23/08/2018

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to continue to experience choppy trading following the lackluster performance in the previous session.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid renewed concerns after the U.S. imposed tariffs on $16 billion worth of Chinese goods, leading to a tit-for-tat retaliation by the Asian nation.

After the U.S. imposed an additional 25 percent in duties on Chinese imports ranging from motorcycles to steam turbines and railway cars, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it would lodge a complaint against the measure under the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement mechanism.

Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Wednesday before ending the day mixed. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq moved to the upside, the Dow and the S&P 500 both closed in negative territory.

The Nasdaq rose 29.92 points or 0.4 percent to 7,889.10, but the Dow fell 88.69 points or 0.3 percent to 25,773.60 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.14 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,861.82.

The mixed close on Wall Street came following the Federal Reserve?s release of the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting.

In their discussion of the economic situation and the outlook, meeting participants agreed that information received since the FOMC met in June indicated that the labor market had continued to strengthen and that economic activity had been rising at a strong rate. Job

Many participants suggested that if incoming data continued to support their current economic outlook, it would likely soon be appropriate to take another step in removing policy accommodation.

Participants generally expected that further gradual increases in the target range for the federal funds rate would be consistent with a sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near the Committee’s symmetric 2 percent objective over the medium term.

On the U.S. economic front, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing an unexpected drop in existing home sales in the month of July.

NAR said existing home sales dropped by 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 5.34 million in July after falling by 0.6 percent to a rate of 5.38 million in June.

The continued decrease in existing home sales came as a surprise to economists, who had expected existing home sales to climb by 0.6 percent.

“Led by a notable decrease in closings in the Northeast, existing home sales trailed off again last month, sliding to their slowest pace since February 2016 at 5.21 million,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

He added, “Too many would-be buyers are either being priced out, or are deciding to postpone their search until more homes in their price range come onto the market.”

Economy

Coronation Sees February 2026 Inflation Cooling to 14.12%

Published

3 hours ago

16/03/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Analysts at Coronation Research are projecting the inflation rate for February 2026 to moderate by 0.98 per cent to 14.12 per cent from the 15.10 per cent recorded in the preceding month.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release the inflation numbers today, Monday, March 16, 2026.

In a note released over the weekend, Coronation Research disclosed that the fall in the average prices of goods and services for last month would be impacted by a decline in the prices of food items.

“Our projection is supported by favourable base effects, easing food price pressures, and slight appreciation of the Naira,” a part of the report sighted by Business Post read.

The organisation revealed that the ongoing government interventions in the agricultural sector to improve food supply conditions are beginning to ease pressures within the food component of the consumer basket.

It further stated that “appreciation of the Naira to N1,363.40/1$ from N1,386.55/1$ in January is expected to reduce the cost of imported food items.”

However, it stressed that the ongoing US/Israel-Iran war was capable of reversing the deflationary trends because of the rising global energy prices.

“Also, the $200 million financing approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group to scale up priority agricultural investments is expected to be disbursed in March, but its impact is likely to materialise in the medium to long term, with limited immediate effects on food supply and prices,” it said.

Coronation Research also disclosed that the recent energy market developments could keep core inflation sticky in the near term, as average Bonny Light crude oil prices rose to $72.33 per barrel in February 2026 from $68.04 per barrel in January.

Economy

SERAP Calls for Investigation into NNPC’s N5.9bn Rebranding

Published

4 hours ago

16/03/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to order an investigation into the alleged N5.9 billion rebranding cost of the old Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation into the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

In a Sunday statement, SERAP urged Mr Tinubu to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, alongside anti-corruption agencies, to look into the matter.

The group further urged the President to direct the panel to identify and invite officials who authorised the payment and contractors who handled the project for questioning.

“We’ve urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly investigate the alleged expenditure of about ₦5.9 billion reportedly spent on the rebranding of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

“We also urged him to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to identify the officials who approved and paid the amount, and the contractor(s) who collected the money, and to invite them for questioning,” the organisation stated.

SERAP further alleged that the NNPC reportedly paid N2.9 billion for incorporation expenses from petroleum product proceeds, while the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) also charged N2.9 billion against crude oil revenue for the same purpose.

The group argued that the total cost was valued at about N5.9 billion, which was spent by the NNPCL for the rebranding.

“There ought to be full transparency and accountability regarding the reported ₦5.9 billion spent on rebranding NNPC to NNPCL.”

SERAP emphasised that Nigerians have the right to know who approved the expenditure, who received the money, and whether due process was followed.

“Any investigation into the rebranding project should determine whether the N5.9 billion represents value for money, lawful spending of public funds, and compliance with transparency and accountability requirements,” the statement concluded.

Business Post reports that NNPC became a limited liability company on July 1, 2022, under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) in line with the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which was signed into law on August 16, 2021, by late President Muhammadu Buhari.

Economy

NASD Market Falls 1.18% to Extend Losing Streak

Published

2 days ago

14/03/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south for the fourth consecutive session after it shed 1.18 per cent on Friday, March 13.

The unlisted securities market recorded a loss despite closing without a price decliner, and ending with two price gainers led by Geo Fluids Plc, which gained 1o Kobo to sell at N3.10 per share compared with the previous day’s N3.00 per share. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc appreciated during the session by 2 Kobo to trade at 54 Kobo per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of 52 Kobo per unit.

When the market closed for the day, the market capitalisation lost N29.83 billion to close at N2.489 trillion compared with the N2.519 trillion it finished a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) crashed by 49.84 points to 4,160.46 points from 4,210.31 points.

Market activity improved yesterday, as the volume of transactions rose 179.5 per cent to 10.4 million units from 3.7 million units, but the value of trades declined by 68.4 per cent to N29.9 million from N95.0 million, while the number of deals weakened by 11.5 per cent to 46 deals from 52 deals.

Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 38.4 million units worth N2.4 billion, Okitipupa Plc followed with 6.4 million units traded at N1.1 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc transacted 6.3 million units for N584.3 million.

Resourcery Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.6 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 130.8 million units valued at N504.5 million, and CSCS Plc with 38.4 million units worth N2.4 billion.