Economy
Asian Equities Rebound as Pressure Mounts to Stop Trump’s Tariffs
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks rebounded on Tuesday amid receding worries about a trade war as President Donald Trump faced mounting pressure from political allies to reconsider his decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., urged Trump to rethink the planned tariffs on steel and aluminum as confusion persisted about the timing and extent of the planned tariffs.
Trump indicated that the tariffs would be removed if the U.S. negotiates a “new & fair” NAFTA agreement.
Chinese stocks posted strong gains after reports that China’s securities regulator is considering giving Chinese investors access to offshore-listed tech companies via depositary receipts.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 33.25 points or 1.0 percent to 3,290.17, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged up 624.34 points or 2.1 percent to 30,510.73.
Japanese shares snapped a four-day losing streak as the yen weakened on improved risk appetite amid easing concerns about a global trade war.
The Nikkei 225 Index spiked 375.67 points or 1.8 percent to 21,417.76 after hitting a nearly five-month low on Monday. The broader Topix Index closed 1.3 percent higher at 1,716.30.
The dollar’s bounce lifted exporters, with Honda Motor, Sony, Panasonic, Toyota Motor and Suzuki Motor rising 1-3 percent.
Among steel makers, Japan Steel Works surged as much as 9 percent, Nippon Steel rose 1 percent and JFE Holdings advanced 1.2 percent. Oil firms Inpex Corp and Japan Petroleum rallied 2-3 percent.
Australian shares rebounded from four days of declines, with material and energy stocks leading the gainers.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 67.40 points or 1.1 percent to 5,962.40 as Australia’s central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low, as widely expected, saying the low level of interest rates is continuing to support the Australian economy. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 65.10 points or 1.1 percent at 6,061.50.
Woodside Petroleum, Origin Energy, Santos and Beach Energy jumped 2-4 percent after crude oil prices rose more than 2 percent overnight amid reports that Libya is suffering supply interruptions.
Mining heavyweight BHP Billiton rallied 2.1 percent, Rio Tinto rose half a percent and smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group advanced 1.3 percent. Gold miners Evolution Mining and Newcrest Mining ended up more than 1 percent.
News Corp and Telstra rose over 2 percent as they signed definitive agreements to combine Foxtel and Fox Sports Australia into a single company by the end of June.
In economic news, current account data for the fourth quarter of 2017 and retail sales figures for January both missed expectations, while a gauge of Australia’s consumer confidence improved for the second straight time during the week ended March 4, separate reports showed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, 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 worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 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 sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
