Economy
Bargain Hunting May Lead to Initial Rebound on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to regain some ground following the sell-off seen in the previous session.
The markets may benefit from bargain hunting, as traders pick up stocks at reduced levels after the steep losses posted on Monday.
While the markets may show an initial rebound, trading activity may be somewhat subdued amid a quiet day on the U.S. economic front.
Traders may look ahead to the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday as well as reports on private sector employment, factory orders, service sector activity and international trade due in the coming days.
Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session on Monday as traders returned to their desks following the long holiday weekend. The major averages all showed notable moves to the downside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 falling to their lowest closing levels in almost two months.
The major averages climbed off their lows of the session going into the close but still ended the day firmly in the red. The Dow slumped 458.92 points or 1.9 percent to 23,644.19, the Nasdaq plunged 193.33 points or 2.7 percent to 6,870.12 and the S&P 500 tumbled 58.99 points or 2.2 percent to 2,581.88.
The sell-off on Wall Street came after China announced it is imposing tariffs on 128 imported goods originating in the U.S.
The move by China was in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
China revealed it is imposing a 15 percent tariff on 120 American products such as fruits, nuts, wine and steel pipes and a 25 percent tariff on eight other products, including pork and scrap aluminum.
The decision by China has added to recent concerns about a potential trade war after Trump also announced plans to impose about $50 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods over intellectual-property violations.
A notable decline by Amazon (AMZN) also weighed on the markets after Trump once again attacked the online retail giant on Twitter.
“Only fools, or worse, are saying that our money losing Post Office makes money with Amazon. THEY LOSE A FORTUNE, and this will be changed,” Trump tweeted. “Also, our fully tax paying retailers are closing stores all over the country…not a level playing field!”
On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing activity in the manufacturing sector grew at a slower than expected rate in the month of March.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index fell to 59.3 in March from 60.8 in February, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 60.0.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed construction spending rose by much less than expected in February.
Biotechnology stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 4.9 percent. With the drop, the index ended the session at its lowest closing level in nearly three months.
Within the biotech sector, Alkermes (ALKS) posted a steep loss after the FDA rejected the biopharmaceutical company’s application for approval of an experimental depression treatment.
Significant weakness was also visible among retail stocks, as reflected by the 3.7 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones Retail Index. The steep decline by shares of Amazon weighed on the sector.
Energy stocks also saw considerable weakness, moving lower along with the price of crude oil. Semiconductor, telecom, housing, and computer hardware stocks also showed notable moves to the downside, reflecting broad based weakness on Wall Street.
Meanwhile, gold stocks were among the few groups to buck the downtrend, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index climbing by 1.3 percent. The strength among gold stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal.
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.
