Economy
Asian Shares Close Higher as Geopolitical Tension Eases
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Friday as geopolitical tensions eased and investors breathed a sigh of relief that U.S. trade tariffs were less severe than originally feared.
Geopolitical tensions eased after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered to halt nuclear and missile tests and expressed his desire to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Separately, the White House slapped import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent for aluminum but exempted Canada and Mexico and offered the possibility of excluding other allies, backtracking from an earlier “no-exceptions” stance.
China’s Shanghai Composite index climbed 19.23 points or 0.6 percent to 3,307.64 after official data showed that Chinese inflation rose sharply to the highest level in more than four years in February, driven by a rebound in food prices. At the same time, producer price inflation slowed to a 15-month low. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 341.69 points or 1.1 percent to 30,996.21.
Consumer price inflation rose to 2.9 percent in February from 1.5 percent in January, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. This was the highest since November 2013. Producer price inflation slowed to 3.7 percent in February from 4.3 percent a month ago.
Japanese shares closed higher after the Bank of Japan kept rates unchanged and offered no clues on when it would wind down stimulus measures. Trade worries subsided and geopolitical tensions eased, helping buoy investor sentiment ahead of the U.S. February jobs report due later in the day.
The Nikkei 225 index ended 101.13 points or 0.5 percent higher at 21,469.20 after climbing as much as 2.4 percent earlier in the day. The broader Topix index closed 0.3 percent higher at 1,715.48. While exporters and insurers led the surge, steelmakers and defense-equipment makers ended broadly lower.
The average of household spending in Japan rose an annual 2.0 percent in January, the ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said today. That beat forecasts for a 0.8 percent decline.
Australian shares ended a range-bound session slightly higher as financials gained ground, offsetting losses in the material and energy sectors. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 20.30 points or 0.3 percent to 5,963.20, while the All Ordinaries index ended up 22.50 points or 0.4 percent at 6,069.10.
The big four banks rose between 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent, and mortgage insurance lender Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia soared 7.7 percent to reach its highest level in over a week.
Weakness in Chinese steel and iron ore futures weighed on miners, with BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and Rio Tinto losing 2-3 percent.
Oil stocks Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Origin Energy dropped 1-2 percent after crude oil prices fell to a three-week low overnight. Myer Holdings tumbled 4.4 percent after the struggling department store chain was removed from the ASX 200 index.
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.
