Economy
US Stocks Open Flat on Looming Powell Testimony
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to extend the lackluster performance seen in the previous session.
Traders may remain reluctant to make significant moves ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell?s semiannual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.
Powell?s remarks are likely to be closely watched for clues about the outlook for interest rate hikes after the Fed previously signaled two more rate hikes this year.
Nonetheless, a notable decline by shares of Netflix (NFLX) may weigh on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, with the video streaming service tumbling by 12.9 percent in pre-market trading.
Following the strong upward move seen last week, stocks turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Monday. The major averages showed a lack of direction, spending the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the session mixed. While the Dow rose 44.95 points or 0.2 percent to 25,064.36, the Nasdaq dipped 20.26 points or 0.3 percent to 7,805.72 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.88 points or 0.1 percent to 2,798.43.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of quarterly financial results from a number of big-name companies this week.
Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Morgan Stanley (MS), American Express (AXP), IBM Corp. (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), and General Electric (GE) are among the companies due to report their results in the coming days.
Nonetheless, traders largely refrained from cashing in on last week’s gains after a report from the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of June.
The report said retail sales climbed by 0.5 percent in June after soaring by an upwardly revised 1.3 percent in May. Economists had expected sales to rise by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.8 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding a jump in auto sales, retail sales still rose by 0.4 percent in June following a 1.4 percent spike in May. The increase in ex-auto sales also matched economist estimates.
A separate report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed New York manufacturing activity continued to grow at a fairly brisk pace in July, although the pace of growth slowed from the previous month.
While the New York Fed said its general business conditions index dipped to 22.6 in July from 25.0, a positive reading still indicates growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to drop to 22.0.
The Commerce Department also released a report showing business inventories increased in line with economist estimates in the month of May.
Many of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, although considerable weakness was visible among energy stocks. The sell-off by energy stocks came amid a sharp drop by the price of crude oil.
Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index plunged by 2 percent, while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index slumped by 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
Significant weakness is also visible among tobacco stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index.
Biotechnology and transportation stocks also moved notably lower, while Bank of America (BAC) helped lead the banking sector higher after reporting better than expected second quarter results
Economy
NGX Group’s 65th Annual General Meeting Holds April 29
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc has been fixed for Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 11:00 am at its corporate head office on 2–4 Customs Street, Lagos.
Business Post gathered that the meeting would be streamed live on the company’s website and social media platforms to enable broader participation by shareholders and stakeholders unable to attend physically.
As part of a special business, shareholders will consider a proposed bonus issue of one new ordinary share for every three existing shares held as at the close of business on April 10, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The proposal also includes an increase in the organisation’s share capital from N1,102,309,954 to N1,469,746,605, to accommodate the bonus shares and amendments to the Memorandum of Association to reflect the new capital structure.
Also at the gathering, shareholders will consider and, if deemed fit, approve the company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, alongside the reports of the directors, auditors, board evaluation consultants, and audit committee.
The meeting will also deliberate on the declaration of a final dividend and the re-election of three non-executive directors retiring by rotation, who are Mr Umaru Kwairanga, Mrs Ojinika Olaghere, and Dr Okechukwu Itanyi.
Other ordinary business items on the agenda include authorising the board to fix the remuneration of the external auditors, determining the remuneration of managers, and electing members of the statutory audit committee.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
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