Economy
Wall Street Opens Higher Amid Unimpressive Jobs Data
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions.
The futures remained positive even though a closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of August.
The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 130,000 jobs in August after climbing by a downwardly revised 159,000 jobs in July. Economists had expected employment to increase by about 158,000 jobs.
Despite the weaker than expected jobs data, the markets may continue to benefit from optimism about next month?s U.S.-China trade talks.
Following the significant rebound seen on Wednesday, stocks showed another strong move to the upside during trading on Thursday. With the continued advance, the major averages ended the session at their best closing levels in over a month.
The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still firmly in positive territory. The Dow surged up 372.68 points or 1.4 percent to 26,728.15, the Nasdaq spiked 139.95 points or 1.8 percent to 8,116.83 and the S&P 500 jumped 38.22 points or 1.3 percent to 2,976.00.
The rally on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to news that the U.S. and China plan to hold high level trade talks in early October.
A statement from China’s Commerce Ministry said both sides agreed to the new round of talks during a phone call between Chinese Vice Premier and chief trade negotiator Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
“Both sides agreed they should work together and take practical actions to create favorable conditions for the negotiations,” China’s Commerce Ministry said, according to a CNBC translation.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office confirmed the phone call and said the U.S. and China agreed to hold meetings “in the coming weeks.”
U.S. and Chinese officials will purportedly hold deputy-level talks later this month in preparation for the meeting in October.
A report from payroll processor ADP showing stronger than expected private sector job growth in August also generated buying interest.
The report said private sector employment surged up by 195,000 jobs in August after climbing by a downwardly revised 142,000 jobs in July.
Economists had expected employment to increase by about 149,000 jobs compared to the addition of 156,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
“Businesses are holding firm on their payrolls despite the slowing economy,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Hiring has moderated, but layoffs remain low. As long as this continues recession will remain at bay.”
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.
Employment is expected to increase by 158,000 jobs in August after climbing by 164,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.7 percent.
Shortly after the start of trading, the Institute for Supply Management released a separate report showing a notable acceleration in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in the month of August.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index climbed to 56.4 in August after falling to 53.7 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in service sector activity. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 54.0.
The bigger than expected increase by the non-manufacturing index came after it dropped to its lowest level since August of 2016 in the previous month.
Oil service stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 4.1 percent to its best closing level in nearly a month.
The rally by oil service stocks came even though the price of crude oil pulled back near the unchanged after moving sharply higher early in the session.
Substantial strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent jump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Financial, transportation, computer hardware and steel stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, reflecting broad-based buying interest.
Meanwhile, gold stocks were among the few groups to buck the uptrend, with a steep drop by the price of the precious metal weighing on the sector.
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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