Economy
Disappointing Chinese Data Weakens Asia Markets
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday, with disappointing Chinese data and uncertainty about final approval of the draft Brexit deal keeping investors nervous ahead of the weekend.
Chinese stocks saw their steepest daily drop in a month as weak GDP data raised fresh worries over the health of the world’s second-largest economy.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 39.19 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,938.14, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 128.91 points or 0.5 percent to 26,719.58.
China’s economy grew at the slowest rate in nearly three decades in the third quarter, raising pressure on policymakers to roll out more stimulus.
China’s GDP grew 6 percent year-on-year in the third quarter after rising 6.2 percent in the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said. This was the slowest growth since the early 1990s. Growth was forecast to slow marginally to 6.1 percent.
Industrial production advanced 5.8 percent annually in September after rising 4.4 percent in August and 4.8 percent in July. Output was expected to climb 4.9 percent.
Annual growth in retail sales increased to 7.8 percent, in line with expectations. During January to September, fixed asset investment grew 5.4 percent, which was slightly slower than the forecast of 5.5 percent increase.
Meanwhile, Japanese shares hit a 10-month high, with tech stocks leading the surge following upbeat earnings from Taiwan’s TSMC. Sentiment was also boosted after the government said the trade deal reached between the U.S. and Japan will boost domestic growth by about 0.8 percent.
The Nikkei 225 Index inched up 40.82 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,492.68, while the broader Topix closed 0.1 percent lower at 1,621.99 after the release of weak Chinese GDP data.
Screen Holdings, a major chip industry supplier, jumped 7.9 percent and Sumco advanced 4.3 percent. Heavyweight Fast Retailing gained 1.8 percent and Fanuc added 2.2 percent.
Japanese inflation eased to the lowest level in more than two years in September, data showed, raising pressure on the central bank to ease policy further.
Excluding fresh food, inflation eased to 0.3 percent in September from 0.5 percent in August, the statistics bureau reported. This was the lowest since April 2017 and in line with expectations.
Australian markets fell on worries over slowing global growth and skepticism over the Brexit deal. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 35 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,649.70, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 33.10 points, or 0.5 percent, at 6,758.40.
Healthcare stocks such as CSL and Cochlear fell slightly as the Aussie dollar gained ground. Banks extended losses for a second straight session, with ANZ, NAB and Westpac falling between 0.4 percent and 0.8 percent.
IOOF Holdings rallied 3.6 percent as the banking regulator stood down from appealing a Federal Court decision to dismiss its regulatory action against the wealth manager.
Energy firms Woodside Petroleum and Santos ended modestly lower, while Origin Energy fell as much as 2.5 percent.
Mining stocks ended on a mixed note. Seven West Media rose 1.3 percent after the company said it will merge with regional affiliate Prime Media Group in a A$63.8 million all-stock deal expected to be completed in January.
Shares of Southern Cross Media, which has agreed to buy Seven West’s WA radio network Redwave for A$28 million, jumped 2.3 percent.
Seoul stocks fell as worries about slowing growth in China overshadowed optimism from a Brexit deal between the U.K. and the European Union. The Kospi dropped 17.25 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,060.69.
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.
