Stock market moves further south as Zenith, GSK, C& I Leasing top laggards
The stock market of Africa’s largest economy failed to halt its losing streak on Thursday as it moved further in the red zone by 0.04 percent or N13billion.
Zenith Bank led the league of laggards after its share price moved day open high of N23.40 to N22.85, shedding 55kobo or 2.35percent.
It was followed by C&I Leasing which dropped from N3.50 to N3.20, losing 30kobo or 8.57percent and GSK which also decreased from a high of N7.30 to N7.10, losing 20kobo or 2.74 percent.
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UK exports billions of litres of petrol to US despite record local pump prices
Entangled in a web of confusion and disbelief, motorists in the UK are facing rising fuel prices, and yet there is news about the country exporting millions of litres of fuel to the US, where motorists pay less than in the UK.
The UK falls just behind France in the countries amongst the group of 20 big economies (G20) with the highest selling price for fuel. And not only is the price so high, but, according to globalpetrolprices.com, it is the fastest growth rate in 17 years. Due to a crude oil shortage caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, the United States has not been spared the rising price of gasoline, which is the highest paid in more than ten years but still falls 60 percent below the price paid in the United Kingdom.
According to Bloomberg, an investigation carried out by an unnamed source showed that something like 3 billion litres of petrol shipped to the US from the UK is because of taxes.
A litre of petrol in the UK costs £1.76, equivalent to $8.35 a gallon. That compares with $5.04 a gallon in the US, or £1.06.
Captured fighters get death sentence, as Ukraine’s economy shrinks by 15%
Reports captured by Bloomberg revealed that two British mercenaries and a Moroccan hired for pay soldier captured in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Russia by the Russian military have been sentenced to death. The sentence was handed over by a Russian-backed court in the occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine.
This sentence is a demonstration of how Putin intends to tighten its grip on occupied Ukrainian territories. Putin is desperate to seize complete control of Ukraine’s east, and plans to capture the city of Sievierodonetsk are reaching fever pitch as fighting intensifies.
The fighting in the country continues to cost the government of Ukraine dearly as the economy shredded 15 percent of its real productive value in the first quarter of 2022, as the “central bank stepped up its purchases of public debt to finance the country’s budget.” Bloomberg stated
DRCongo to receive World Bank’s $900 million development projects
The World Bank released a statement that its agency, in partnership with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has entered into a strategic partnership to provide funding of $900 million to boost female entrepreneurship. The funds will also be used to provide easy access to water and electricity in the east and west of the country.
According to Reuters, the earmarked projects will be stationed in Congo’s Central West Kasai province and eastern regions.
The World Bank Congo Director said in a statement made available to Reuters that “These operations supplement a portfolio of operations focused on reinforcing human capital and protecting the poorest households—including women—against socio-economic hazards.”
After carrying out the needed feasibility study, the deal was completed at the end of a two-day visit by the director of strategy and operations of the World Bank, East and Central Africa, Humberto Lopez.
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Anticipation of inflation report push US futures higher
The anticipation of today’s inflation report in the US drove stock futures higher this morning as investors led a moderate sell-off of technology stocks on Wall Street.
Thus, the Dow futures picked up 0.1 percent, the S & P 500 futures rose 0.2 percent, and the Nasdaq 100 futures edged higher by 0.4 percent. This is according to tradingeconomics.
However, at the close of regular trading on Thursday, the Dow Jones fell 1.94 percent, or 634 basis points, while the S & P 500 and Nasdaq lost 2.38 percent and 2.75 percent, or 96 basis points and 332 basis points, respectively.
A closer examination revealed that blue-chip tech companies led the losers’ chart with losses from Meta Platforms (-6.4 percent), Alphabet (-2 percent), Apple (-3.6 percent), Microsoft (-2.1 percent), and Nvidia (-3.2 percent).
Analysts at tradingeconomics stated that investors’ cautious attitude could have been influenced by the expectations surrounding today’s inflation and economic growth outlook from today’s US consumer price index report.
A positive inflation reading will “encourage” the US Fed to continue with its aggressive interest rate hikes.
