Economy
US Stocks May Trade Rough on Uncertainty About Tax Bill
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Friday following the strong upward move seen in the previous session. Traders may be reluctant to make any significant moves amid uncertainty about the prospects for the Senate Republican tax reform bill.
Optimism about passage of the bill contributed to the strength seen on Thursday, although GOP leaders were forced to delay a final vote after the legislation hit a snag.
Reports suggest the Senate parliamentarian ruled against the so-called “trigger” proposed by Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., which would raise taxes if the economic growth generated by the tax cuts does not offset the cost.
The latest reports suggest that Republicans have rounded up enough votes to pass a revised bill, with a series of roll call votes scheduled for 11 am ET.
The outcome of the final vote on the tax reform bill is likely to have a major impact on the markets, as optimism about a corporate tax rate cut has been a key driver behind the run by stocks to new record highs.
Following the mixed performance seen on Wednesday, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. With the upward move on the day, the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.
The major averages finished the day firmly in positive territory but off their highs of the session. The Dow surged up 331.67 points or 1.4 percent to 24,272.35, the Nasdaq climbed 49.58 points or 0.7 percent to 6,873.97 and the S&P 500 advanced 21.51 points or 0.8 percent to 2,647.58.
The strength on Wall Street partly reflected optimism about the outlook for tax reform after Senate Republicans cleared a key procedural hurdle.
The Senate voted 52 to 48 along party lines on Wednesday to begin formal debate on the GOP tax reform bill after negotiations convinced Republican holdouts to vote for the legislation.
The approval of the procedural motion sets the stage for a final Senate vote on the tax reform bill late Thursday or early Friday.
Adding to the optimism about the passage of the bill, Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., announced he would support the legislation.
Upbeat economic data may also have generated some buying interest, with a Labor Department report showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 25th.
The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 238,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 240,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 240,000 from the 239,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed personal income increased by slightly more than expected in October, while personal spending rose in line with estimates.
The report said personal income climbed by 0.4 percent in October, matching the increase seen in September. Economists had expected income to rise by 0.3 percent.
The Commerce Department also said personal spending rose by 0.3 percent in October after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.9 percent in September.
Economists had expected spending to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 1.0 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, MNI Indicators released a report showing a modest slowdown in the pace of growth in Chicago-area business activity in the month of November.
Extending the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions, transportation stocks moved sharply higher on the day. The Dow Jones Transportation Average surged up by 2 percent to a record closing high.
Southwest Airlines (LUV), Union Pacific (UNP), and C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) turned in some of the sector’s best performances.
Significant strength was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The strength in the sector came as OPEC and other oil exporters agreed to extend an agreement limiting production through 2018.
Biotechnology stocks also turned in a strong performance, resulting in a 1.8 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in over a month.
Natural gas, software and retail stocks also saw notable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
