Economy
Wall Street Opens Flat on Looming Jobs Data
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after moving sharply higher over the two previous sessions.
The markets could continue to benefit from continued optimism about a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, although lingering trade concerns are likely to keep any buying interest somewhat subdued.
Overall trading activity may also remain light as some traders may stay on the sidelines ahead of the release of the Labor Department?s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Employment is expected to climb by 185,000 jobs in May after surging up by 263,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.6 percent.
The strength of the jobs data could have a notable impact on the perceived prospects for a near-term interest rate cut by the Fed.
After fluctuating early in the session, stocks moved notably higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. With the upward move on the day, the major averages extended the substantial rally seen in the previous session.
The major averages reached new highs for the session going into the close of trading. The Dow jumped 207.39 points or 0.8 percent to 25,539.57, the Nasdaq climbed 48.36 points or 0.6 percent to 7,575.48 and the S&P 500 advanced 22.88 points or 0.8 percent to 2,826.15.
Stocks continued to benefit from optimism about a potential interest rate cut after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s pledged to sustain the U.S. economic expansion.
Citing uncertainty surrounding trade negotiations and other matters, Powell said in a speech on Tuesday that the central bank will act “as appropriate” to support the economy.
Powell’s comments were widely seen as an indication the Fed is prepared to discuss lowering interest rates if escalating global trade disputes weigh down economic growth.
A report from payroll processor ADP showing much weaker than expected private sector job growth in May initially generated some negative sentiment but was subsequently seen as adding to the case for a rate cut.
ADP said private sector employment edged up by 27,000 jobs in May after spiking by a downwardly revised 271,000 jobs in April.
Economists had expected employment to increase by 180,000 jobs compared to the jump of 275,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
“Job growth is moderating,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Labor shortages are impeding job growth, particularly at small companies, and layoffs at brick-and-mortar retailers are hurting.”
Later in the day, traders largely shrugged off the Fed’s Beige Book, which said economic activity in the U.S. expanded at a modest pace overall from April through mid-May.
The Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in the twelve Fed districts, noted the assessment of the overall economy reflected a slight improvement over the slight-to-moderate growth indicated in the previous report.
Interest rate-sensitive utilities and commercial real estate stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances amid optimism about a future rate cut.
Reflecting the strength in the sectors, the Dow Jones Utility Average and the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index both surged up by 2.1 percent.
Software and networking stocks also extended the rebound seen in the previous session, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index and the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.9 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, energy stocks saw significant weakness on the day, with a steep drop by the price of crude oil weighing on the sector.
Crude for July delivery tumbled following the release of a report showing a weekly jump in U.S. crude oil inventories.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange returned to positive territory after it chalked up 1.18 per cent on Wednesday, June 24.
The NASD Security Index (NSI) was up during the session by 50.02 points to 4,289.36 points from the previous session’s 4,239.34 points, and the market capitalisation got a N30.03 billion boost to settle at N2.574 trillion compared with Tuesday’s closing value of N2.544 trillion.
The growth witnessed yesterday was influenced by two securities, led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which improved its value by N4.68 to N79.68 per share from N75.00 per share. Food Concepts Plc grew by 25 Kobo to sell at N2.75 per unit versus the preceding day’s N2.51 per unit.
At the close of trading activities, the value of securities bought and sold by market participants went up by 1,387.1 per cent to N82.9 million from the preceding session’s N5.6 million, and the volume of securities soared by 1,162.2 per cent to 2.7 million units from the previous 211,671 units, while the number of deals was halved by 50 per cent to 19 deals from 38 deals.
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 sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.3 million units transacted for N4.7 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 worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira further depreciated by 0.72 per cent or N9.90 against the United States Dollar to N1,380.54/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, June 24, in contrast to Tuesday’s exchange rate of N1,370.64/$1.
Equally, the local currency weakened against the Pound Sterling in the same official market yesterday by N4.88 to close at N1,815.63/£1 versus the previous session’s N1,810.75/£1, and lost N2.61 on the Euro to sell at N1,563.63/€1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,561.02/€1.
However, at the GTBank forex counter, the domestic currency maintained stability against the US Dollar during the session at N1,380/$1, and at the parallel market, it closed flat at N1,395/$1.
Rising FX payments and a strong US Dollar have generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies, like the Naira.
According to the data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NFEM interbank FX turnover was relatively steady at $125.588 million across 126 deals, from $125.314 million the previous day.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the apex bank, with more than six weeks of no support for the local currency.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign reserves increased further to $51.142 billion, while global oil prices entered the lower $70s.
Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency market, nearly $1 billion worth of futures positions were liquidated across crypto majors to tokenised versions of stocks such as Micron Technology Inc (MU) and Sandisk (SNDK).
The dip triggered roughly $430 million in long liquidations on Bitcoin-tracked futures, or bets on higher prices that were automatically closed as the price fell.
Thursday’s PCE inflation print, the Fed’s preferred price gauge, is the next data point that could move the market in either direction, with Dogecoin (DOGE) down by 2.4 per cent to $0.0771.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 1.9 per cent to $61,584.02, Ethereum (ETH) shed 1.6 per cent to trade at $1,645.50, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.6 per cent to $1.08, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.5 per cent to $570.95, Cardano (ADA) crashed by 1.1 per cent to $0.1495, and Solana (SOL) slipped by 1.0 per cent to $69.19.
But TRON (TRX) gained 0.1 per cent to finish at $0.3288, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The price of Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined by $3.34 or 4.3 per cent on Wednesday to settle at $73.74 per barrel, its lowest level before the start of the Iran war on February 28, 2026.
Also, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost $2.87 or 3.9 per cent during the session to sell for $70.34 a barrel.
The development came as supply concerns eased with more stranded oil tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz, which had been blocked since late February.
Market analysts noted that crude oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz are similar to what they were before the start of the Iran war, as tankers exit the key waterway with the help of military escorts. Around 20 million barrels of crude oil have exited the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours.
Before the war began in late February, roughly 125 ships passed through the chokepoint each day, but current traffic remains a fraction of that.
Reuters reported that three stranded tankers carrying 5 million barrels of crude oil exited the strait on Wednesday, with two heading to Asia, shipping data showed, as the interim deal between Iran and the US began to unlock more supply stuck in the Gulf.
As Middle Eastern producers scramble to move crude that has spent months stranded in the Persian Gulf, tanker rates have exploded higher. The cost of hiring a tanker in the Gulf has nearly doubled in just a week, jumping from around $106,000 per day to more than $190,000 per day. For some very large crude carriers (VLCCs) hauling cargoes through Hormuz, daily earnings have surged to nearly $470,000.
The US also authorised Iranian oil sales this week, easing decades-old sanctions as it pushes toward a final peace deal with Iran in return for commitments on nuclear inspections and free transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Oman said it would keep the strait open to shipping without imposing tolls and had designated two temporary routes north and south of the existing shipping lane to facilitate the safe passage of vessels leaving the region.
Crude inventories in the US remained tight on strong refining demand and amid a release of oil from the government’s emergency stash. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude stocks, including commercial and those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 15.1 million barrels to 743.3 million barrels in the week ended June 19, which was the lowest level since 1984.
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