Economy
Asian Markets Remain Upbeat on Ongoing Talks Between South, North Korea
Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Tuesday as investors digested earnings guidance from tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics and kept an eye on ongoing talks between South Korea and North Korea.
Chinese shares extended gains for the eighth straight session after central bank data showed China’s foreign exchange reserves increased for the eleventh straight month in December.
Foreign exchange reserves rose $20.7 billion to $3.14 trillion at the end of December, reaching the highest level since September of 2016. Chinese producer and consumer price inflation data will be released on Wednesday.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched up 5.35 points or 0.2 percent to 3,414.83, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 111.88 points or 0.4 percent to 31,011.41.
Japanese shares hit a 26-year high, with sentiment lifted by record highs on Wall Street overnight and strong December sales reported by clothing company Fast Retailing at its Uniqlo clothing outlets in Japan.
Investors shrugged of the yen’s strength against the dollar after the Bank of Japan trimmed the size of its bond-repurchase offer in its latest market operation.
The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 135.46 points or 0.6 percent to 23,849.99, the highest closing level since November of 1991. The broader Topix index closed 0.5 percent higher at 1,889.29.
Index heavyweight Fast Retailing rose 1.2 percent, while tech stocks Tokyo Electron and TDK Corp gained 1.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.
Australian shares rose for a fifth consecutive session, led by miners and financials. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 5.40 points or 0.1 percent to close at 6,135.80, a new five-year high. The broader All Ordinaries Index finished 5 points higher at 6,241.50.
Banks ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac rose between 0.1 percent and 0.7 percent while energy major Oil Search advanced 1 percent and Origin Energy added 1.5 percent.
Miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and South32 climbed around 2 percent each after China’s iron ore futures rose more than 3 percent on Tuesday to hit a four-month high.
Retailer Noni B jumped 4.5 percent after a positive trading update. Meanwhile, Retail Food Group slumped more than 6 percent after issuing another profit warning.
On the economic front, job advertisements in Australia decreased in December after rising in the two previous months, the latest survey from the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group revealed.
A gauge of Australia’s consumer confidence strengthened notably during the week ended January 8th, while the total number of building approvals issued in the country rose a seasonally adjusted 11.7 percent in December.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day 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 traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
