Economy
US Shares Open Lower on Global Economic Concerns
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to give back ground following the rally seen last week.
Concerns about the global economy are likely to weigh on the markets after the International Monetary Fund said the global expansion is weakening at a rate that is somewhat faster than expected.
The IMF lowered its forecasts for global economic growth to 3.5 percent in 2019 and 3.6 percent in 2020, 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points below last October?s projections.
An escalation of trade tensions and a worsening of financial conditions are key sources of risk to the outlook, the IMF said.
The IMF also expressed concerns about a bigger than expected slowdown in Chinese growth, the Brexit cliffhanger, and the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
In remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde noted risks to the global economy are increasingly intertwined.
?Think of how higher tariffs and rising uncertainty over future trade policy fed into lower asset prices and higher market volatility,? Lagarde said. ?This in turn contributed to tightening financial conditions, including for advanced economies, which is a major risk factor in a world of high debt burdens. ?
?Does that mean that a global recession is around the corner? The answer is ?no,?? she added. ?But the risk of a sharper decline in global growth has certainly increased.?
Extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions, stocks moved sharply higher during the trading day on Friday. With the continued advance, the major averages reached their best closing levels in well over a month.
The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow soared 336.25 points or 1.4 percent to 24,706.35, the Nasdaq jumped 72.76 points or 1 percent to 7,157.23 and the S&P 500 surged up 34.75 points or 1.3 percent to 2,670.71.
Reflecting the four-day winning streak, the major averages moved substantially higher for the week. The Dow spiked by 3 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 shot up by 2.7 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
The rally on Wall Street comes as traders continued to express optimism about trade talks between the U.S. and China.
Adding to the positive sentiment, a report from Bloomberg News said China has offered to go on a six-year buying spree to ramp up imports from the U.S.
An official familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg that China would seek to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S. by increasing annual goods imports by a combined value of more than $1 trillion.
The Bloomberg report came on the heels of yesterday’s Wall Street Journal report indicating the U.S. is considering lifting tariffs on Chinese goods.
The Wall Street Journal report on Thursday said the U.S. is weighing easing tariffs in an effort to calm markets and give China an incentive to make deeper concessions.
People close to internal deliberations told the Journal that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin proposed the idea of lifting some or all tariffs in a series of strategy meetings.
The people said the aim of easing the tariffs is to advance trade talks and win China’s support for longer-term reforms.
The positive news on trade overshadowed a report from the University of Michigan showing a substantial deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of January.
The preliminary report said the consumer sentiment index plummeted to 90.7 in January from the final December reading of 98.3. Economists had expected the index to dip to 97.0.
With the much steeper than expected drop, the consumer sentiment index tumbled to its lowest level since hitting 87.2 in October of 2016.
“Consumer sentiment declined in early January to its lowest level since Trump was elected,” said Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin. “The decline was primarily focused on prospects for the domestic economy, with the year-ahead outlook for the national economy judged the worst since mid 2014.”
He added, “The loss was due to a host of issues including the partial government shutdown, the impact of tariffs, instabilities in financial markets, the global slowdown, and the lack of clarity about monetary policies.”
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Federal Reserve showed industrial production increased by slightly more than expected in December, as jumps in manufacturing and mining output more than offset a sharp pullback in utilities output.
The Fed said industrial production rose by 0.3 percent in December after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.4 percent in November.
Economists had expected industrial production to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.6 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.
Oil service stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 3.8 percent to its best intraday level in well over a month. The rally by oil service stocks came amid a significant increase by the price of crude oil.
Substantial strength was also visible among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent spike by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.
Trucking company J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) posted a standout gain after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results.
Computer hardware stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, resulting in a 2.6 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Semiconductor, tobacco, banking, and networking stocks also moved notably higher, reflecting broad based buying interest.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to raise its oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day for May.
Eight members of OPEC+, comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, agreed to the increase in May quota at a virtual meeting on Sunday, OPEC+ said in a statement.
However, the rise will be in theory, as its key members are unable to raise production due to the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has affected production.
The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil route, since the end of February and cut exports from some OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq. These are the only countries in the group which were able to significantly raise production even before the conflict began.
Besides the disruptions affecting Gulf members, others, such as Russia, are unable to increase output due to Western sanctions and damage to infrastructure inflicted during the war with Ukraine. For Nigeria, even as Africa’s largest producer, it has not been able to keep production quotas steady.
The OPEC+ quota increase of 206,000 barrels per day represents less than 2 per cent of the supply disrupted by the Hormuz closure, but it signals readiness to raise output once the waterway reopens.
Also meeting on Sunday, a separate OPEC+ panel called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), expressed concern about attacks on energy assets, saying they were expensive and time-consuming to repair and so have an impact on supply.
May’s OPEC+ increase is the same as the eight members had agreed for April at their last meeting held on March 1, just as the war began to disrupt oil flows.
A month later, the largest oil supply disruption on record is estimated to have removed as many as 12 to 15 million barrels per day or up to 15 per cent of global supply.
The eight OPEC+ members have raised production quotas by about 2.9 million barrels per day from April 2025 through December 2025, before pausing increases for January to March 2026. The sub-group holds its next meeting on May 3.
Market analysts have warned that oil prices could hit $150 per barrel if the closure of the strait is prolonged and continues, due to damage to energy assets across the critical Middle East region.
As of the time of this report, Brent crude is trading at $108 per barrel, below the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude at $109 per barrel.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Workers at Seplat Energy will resume work after a strike action that impacted production was called off by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over the weekend, with the company issuing written commitments on pay rises.
Top employees began an indefinite strike last Friday as talks over a collective bargaining agreement and staff welfare issues broke down. The action came at a time when Nigeria is seeking to maximise production amid rising global oil prices.
According to Reuters, in an April 4 letter to the chief executive of Seplat Nigeria, Mr Roger Brown, PENGASSAN said it had directed members at the local energy firm to immediately suspend industrial action after negotiations resumed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. Other less-skilled workers are covered by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and did not partake in the strike with PENGASSAN.
The union said talks on a 2026 collective bargaining agreement would continue, with the aim of concluding outstanding issues by April 13. However, according to the publication, the union did not disclose more details about its financial demands.
“We can confirm that the union has suspended its notice of industrial action to allow negotiations to conclude on outstanding items within an agreed framework,” Seplat spokesperson, Mr Ogechukwu Udeagha, said, adding that “operations are recommencing at our various locations.”
Seplat Energy’s group production averaged 131,506 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, according to its latest audited results. That is the equivalent of around 7 per cent–9 per cent of Nigeria’s total liquids production.
The company expects output to rise to 155,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, making any sustained disruption particularly sensitive for Nigeria’s supply outlook. This comes as it seeks to scale production while remaining a major supplier of gas to Nigeria’s domestic power market.
With the company’s output expected to rise, any prolonged disruption would have significantly impacted Nigeria’s oil supply and fiscal outlook.
By Dipo Olowookere
The weekly turnover of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited shrank by 27.70 per cent or 1.094 billion equities, partly due to the inability of market participants to trade last Friday as a result of the Good Friday public holiday declared by the federal government.
In the week, investors bought and sold 2.856 billion equities worth N113.597 billion in 215,287 deals versus the 3.950 billion equities valued at N201.312 billion transacted in 359,642 deals in the preceding week.
The activity chart was led by the financial services industry with 1.811 billion shares valued at N61.901 billion in 86,818 deals, contributing 63.41 per cent and 54.49 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The services sector traded 299.895 million stocks worth N2.966 billion in 13,797 deals, and the ICT segment exchanged 183.233 million equities for N14.654 billion in 25,287 deals.
Wema Bank, Access Holdings, and Secure Electronic Technology accounted for 734.659 million shares worth N14.134 billion in 12,319 deals, contributing 25.72 per cent and 12.44 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.
Data from the NGX said 29 stocks gained weight versus 47 stocks of the previous week, as 57 shares lost weight versus 45 shares in the preceding week, while 62 equities closed flat versus 56 equities a week earlier.
Multiverse led the gainers’ chart after it gained 20.66 per cent to trade at N20.15, UPDC REIT appreciated by 15.49 per cent to N8.20, International Energy Insurance chalked up 12.54 per cent to quote at N3.32, Austin Laz grew by 10.47 per cent to N4.43, and Unilever Nigeria rose by 10.00 per cent to N103.40.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology topped the losers’ table after it lost 21.54 per cent to close at N1.02, John Holt declined by 18.47 per cent to N15.45, May and Baker depreciated by 16.57 per cent to N35.00, Aluminium Extrusion moderated by 16.27 per cent to N10.55, and Legend Internet slipped by 16.00 per cent to N6.30.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 0.39 per cent to 201,698,89 points, and the market capitalisation rose by 0.65 per cent to N129.806 trillion.
In the same vein, all other indices finished higher apart from the main board, insurance, MERI Value, consumer goods, industrial goods and growth indices, which went down by 0.29 per cent, 4.25 per cent, 0.36 per cent, 1.74 per cent, 0.24 per cent, and 0.06 per cent, respectively, while the sovereign bond index closed flat.
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