Economy
US Stocks Open Lower on Threat Of New Tariffs
By investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Friday, with stocks likely to come under pressure after ending the previous session modestly higher.
Trade concerns are likely to weigh on the markets once again after President Donald Trump revealed plans to use tariffs to compel Mexico to make efforts to stop flow of illegal immigrants across the country and into the U.S.
?On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP,? Trump announced in a post on Twitter
He added, ?The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied, at which time the Tariffs will be removed.?
Trump revealed in a subsequent White House statement the tariffs will be raised to 10 percent on July 1st if the crisis persists, with tariffs eventually rising as high as 25 percent by October 1st.
The president argued the sustained imposition of tariffs will produce a massive return of jobs back to U.S., describing the move as an effort to ?firmly and forcefully? stand up for America?s interests.
?We have confidence that Mexico can and will act swiftly to help the United States stop this long-term, dangerous, and deeply unfair problem,? Trump said.
?The United States has been very good to Mexico for many years,? he added. ?We are now asking that Mexico immediately do its fair share to stop the use of its territory as a conduit for illegal immigration into our country.?
The threat of new tariffs on Mexican imports comes amid the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China, which has recently weighed on stocks and raised concerns about the global economic outlook.
After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Thursday. The major averages spent a good part of the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
Eventually, the major averages closed in positive territory but well off their best levels of the day. The Dow rose 43.47 points or 0.2 percent to 25,169.88, the Nasdaq climbed 20.41 points or 0.3 percent to 7,567.72 and the S&P 500 edged up 5.84 points or 0.2 percent to 2,788.86.
The early strength on Wall Street partly reflected bargain hunting following recent weakness, with the Dow bouncing off its lowest closing level in well over three months.
An early rebound by treasury yields also contributed to the upward move, as a recent decline by yields has led to concerns about the outlook for the economy and the possibility of a recession.
Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders seemed reluctant to get back into the markets due to lingering concerns about the U.S.-China trade dispute.
Amid a continued escalation of the rhetoric, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui accused the U.S. of “economic terrorism” by raising tariffs on Chinese goods.
“We oppose a trade war but are not afraid of a trade war,” Zhang said. “This kind of deliberately provoking trade disputes is naked economic terrorism, economic homicide, economic bullying.”
A report from Bloomberg News indicating China has put purchases of U.S. soybeans on hold has added to concerns about a trade war.
Treasuries also turned higher over the course of the trading session, contributing to a notable downturn by yields.
On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing a modest uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended May 25th.
The report said initial jobless claims edged up to 215,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 212,000.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed U.S. economic growth in the first quarter accelerated by slightly less than initially estimated.
The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product surged up by 3.1 percent in the first quarter, reflecting a slight downward from revision from the previously reported 3.2 percent jump.
The downwardly revised increase in GDP, which matched economist estimates, still represented a notable acceleration from the 2.2 percent growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing pending home sales unexpectedly pulled back in the month of April.
NAR said its pending home sales index tumbled by 1.5 percent to 104.3 in April after surging up by 3.9 percent to an upwardly revised 105.9 in March.
The pullback came as a surprise to economists, who had expected pending home sales to climb by 0.9 percent compared to the 3.8 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.
Energy stocks showed a significant move to the downside, however, with a steep drop by the price of crude oil weighing on the sector.
Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index tumbled by 2 percent, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index slumped by 1.7 and the NYSE Arca Oil Index fell by 1.3 percent.
Banking stocks also came under pressure over the course of the trading session, dragging the KBW Bank Index down by 1.3 percent.
On the other hand, gold stocks moved higher along with the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index jumping by 1.8 percent.
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.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate in April 2026 rose to 15.69 per cent, beating analysts’ expectations of 15.95 per cent, as the fallout from the Iran war continued to affect the global economy.
The statistical office on Friday showed the headline inflation rate for April on a month-on-month basis was 2.13 per cent, while the food inflation rate in the review month was 16.06 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
The rise in prices comes as an energy price shock stemming from the continued conflict in the Middle East, which stoked food prices and affected relative exchange rate stability.
According to the NBS, “this can be attributed to the rate of change in the average prices of the following products: Millet whole grain, yam flour, ginger (Fresh), beef, garri, tam tuber, pepper (Fresh), cray fish, cassava tuber, Beans, Irish Potatoes, tomatoes (fresh), wheat grain (Sold loose), soya beans, guinea corn, plantain, carrots (Fresh) etc.”
“The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending April 2026, relative to the previous twelve-month average, was 17.55%, which was 17.05% points lower than the average annual rate of change recorded in April 2025 (34.60%),” the NBS said.
Analysts at Coronation Research had earlier projected that the inflation rate in Nigeria would be at 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis in April 2026. It added that the expected inflation rate signals a return toward the underlying disinflation trajectory and could be a pivotal data point in shaping Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) deliberations at the next policy meeting.
It also expects food inflation to further ease, as food and non-alcoholic beverages remain the dominant contributor to headline CPI, accounting for about 40 per cent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket.
The MPC of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will meet this month, the first since the Iran War started in late February, to review core monetary policies and possibly make adjustments.
The committee reduced the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 50 basis points from 27.0 per cent to 26.5 per cent at its 304th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in February.
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