Economy
US Stock Markets Open Lower as Fed Considers One More Rate Hike
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to move to the downside after ending the previous session roughly flat.
Lingering concerns about the outlook for interest rates may weigh on the markets as traders continue to digest the minutes of the Federal Reserve?s latest monetary policy meeting.
The minutes released Wednesday afternoon showed the Fed continues to favor a ?gradual approach? to raising interest rates, with the meeting participants generally judging that the economy was evolving about as anticipated.
The Fed?s forecasts point to one more rate hike before the end of this year, with CME Group?s FedWatch indicating a nearly 80 percent chance of a quarter-point rate increase in December.
After recovering from an early move to the downside, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of afternoon trading on Wednesday. The major averages spent the afternoon bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the day in negative territory. While the Dow fell 91.74 points or 0.4 percent to 25,706.68, the Nasdaq slipped 2.79 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,642.70 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.71 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,809.21.
The lackluster performance in the afternoon came after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its September monetary policy meeting.
The Fed argued the “gradual approach” would balance the risk of raising rates too quickly, causing a slowdown in the economy, and raising rates too slowly, leading to inflation above the central bank’s 2 percent objective.
Looking ahead, the minutes said a few meeting participants expected rates would need to become modestly restrictive for a time.
A number of participants also determined it would be necessary to temporarily raise rates above the longer-run level in order to reduce the risk of a sustained overshooting of the Fed’s inflation target.
Meanwhile, a couple of participants indicated they would not favor adopting a restrictive policy stance in the absence of clear signs of an overheating economy and rising inflation.
During the meeting, the Fed decided to raise rates by a quarter point for a third time this year to 2 to 2.25 percent and forecast another rate hike before the end of the year. The central bank’s forecasts also pointed to three rate hikes in 2019.
The Fed’s assessment that the “gradual approach” to raising rates remains appropriate comes even as President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the central bank for hiking rates too quickly.
Trump continued his assault on the Federal Reserve in an interview with Fox Business on Tuesday, calling the central bank the “biggest threat” to his presidency.
Profit taking contributed to the early weakness on Wall Street, as traders cashed in on yesterday’s gains amid lingering uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets.
A negative reaction to the latest batch of earnings news also weighed on the markets, with tech giant IBM Corp. (IBM) falling after reporting third quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but weaker than expected revenues.
On the other hand, shares of Netflix (NFLX) surged higher after the video streaming service reported better than expected third quarter earnings, revenues, and subscriber growth.
Negative sentiment was also generated by the release of a report from the Commerce Department showing a much bigger than expected pullback in housing starts in the month of September.
Despite the recovery attempt by the broader markets, housing stocks ended the day significantly lower. The Philadelphia Housing Sector Index tumbled by 1.9 percent after jumping by 2.4 percent in the previous session.
Housing stocks pulled back after moving higher for three straight sessions, with the disappointing housing starts data weighing on the sector.
Considerable weakness was also visible among energy stocks, which moved lower along with the price of crude oil. Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index slumped by 1.6 percent, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index dropped by 1.4 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index fell by 1.1 percent.
On the other hand, tobacco stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index up by 1.6 percent. The index rebounded after closing lower for five consecutive sessions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria received its first credit rating upgrade since 2012 from S&P Global Ratings, driven by improved oil market conditions and the country’s growing ability to refine and export crude locally.
The credit ratings agency upgraded the country’s rating by one notch to B, five levels below investment grade, according to a statement on Friday.
It raised its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Nigeria to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘ and affirmed its ‘B’ short-term ratings. It also raised its long- and short-term Nigeria national scale ratings on the sovereign to ‘ngA+/ngA-1’ from ‘ngBBB+/ngA-2’.
S&P also cited Nigeria’s decision to liberalise the exchange rate as crucial to the development, and changed the outlook to stable.
The decision also comes as the federal government ruled out the reintroduction of subsidies on refined petroleum products, in order to avoid a return to larger budgetary deficits and drains on foreign currency (FX) liquidity.
S&P projected the general government deficit will widen to over 4 per cent of GDP on average during 2026 and 2027, a year of a general election.
It added that the implementation of reforms to broaden the tax base from very narrow levels is underpinning a steady decline in Nigeria’s debt-to-revenue ratio to 338 per cent in 2026 versus 500 per cent in 2023.
The agency said it could raise ratings over the next two years if fiscal outcomes improve significantly, either due to fiscal consolidation or structurally higher revenue, resulting in lower debt service costs.
It, however, warned that it could also lower the ratings if the implementation of Nigeria’s reform programme, particularly the series of critical steps taken to liberalise the exchange rate in 2023, reverses.
On the oil production forecast, S&P expects 2026 production to average approximately 1.66 million barrels per day, including condensates.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigerian maritime sector may soon witness the inflow of $600 million in investment from APM Terminals.
On the sidelines of the ongoing Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, the Regional President of APM Terminals for Africa-Europe, Mr Igor van den Essen, informed President Bola Tinubu that his company was interested in deepening its investment in Nigeria.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President of Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the investment would be deployed in Apapa port modernisation, logistics infrastructure, and long-term private-sector investment in Nigeria’s maritime sector.
President Tinubu welcomed the investments, emphasising that Nigeria is repositioning itself for greater competitiveness through ongoing economic reforms and infrastructure modernisation.
He said the country is determined to move beyond structural bottlenecks and outdated systems, stressing the need for advanced technology, faster cargo processing, and improved operational efficiency across the nation’s ports.
He emphasised that Nigeria possesses the market scale, talent base, and economic potential to support globally competitive maritime and logistics infrastructure investments and called on other investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s reform outcomes.
Earlier, Mr Igor van den Essen lauded President Tinubu’s reform agenda and policy direction, which had strengthened investor confidence and created renewed momentum for long-term infrastructure investments.
He described Nigeria as a strategic stronghold within its African operations, referencing over 20 years of collaboration and substantial existing investments in the country’s port ecosystem.
He reaffirmed his company’s commitment to expanding investments in Nigeria and disclosed plans to support the development of world-class terminal infrastructure and technology-driven port operations.
He also commended Mr Tinubu for establishing the National Single Window (NSW), which has streamlined trade procedures, improved Customs coordination, and reduced delays in cargo clearance.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has filed a new lawsuit against the federal government over the fuel import licences issued to marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Last week, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) issued licences to six marketers for the importation of 720,000 metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit, known as petrol.
The marketers are NIPCO, AA Rano, Matrix, Shafa, Pinnacle, and Bono. The development comes amid claims by the NMDPRA that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery now supplies over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption.
Dangote said in the filing that the licences issued undermine its operations and contravene the law, which it argues allows imports only when domestic supply falls short.
Named in the suit against the country is the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi. The federal government can only be sued via his office.
The case signals renewed tensions almost a year after Dangote withdrew an earlier lawsuit challenging similar licences. That case sought to nullify import permits issued to the NNPC and several traders.
The new filing asks the Federal High Court in Lagos to set aside import permits issued or renewed by the NMDPRA, arguing they breach an earlier order to maintain the status quo.
Dangote ended the earlier lawsuit in July 2025 without explanation, leaving unresolved questions over competition and supply in one of Africa’s largest fuel markets.
Nigeria has long relied on petrol imports due to underperforming state refineries. However, Dangote’s 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery was touted to end that dependence.
Despite the presence of the facility, imports have continued to cover supply gaps as the refinery ramps up output.
The NMDPRA did not issue a single import licence in the first quarter of 2026 because the Dangote refinery had the capacity to meet Nigeria’s petrol demand.
Business Post gathered that only upon intervention by President Bola Tinubu were the licenses granted for the second quarter by the NMDPRA.
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