Economy
Futures Pointing To Continued Strength On Wall Street
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to see further upside after closing in positive territory for three straight sessions.
The upward momentum on Wall Street comes as stocks continue to recover from the sell-off that was seen last Wednesday, which dragged the major averages down to their lowest levels in nearly a month.
Many traders felt the pullback was overdone amid lingering optimism about President Donald Trump’s ability to implement his pro-business policy agenda.
Extending the rebound seen late last week, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. With the upward move on the day, the major averages further offset the sell-off that was seen last Wednesday.
The major averages closed firmly in positive territory for the third straight session. The Dow rose 89.99 points or 0.4 percent to 20,894.83, the Nasdaq advanced 49.92 points or 0.8 percent to 6,133.62 and the S&P 500 climbed 12.29 points or 0.5 percent to 2,394.02.
The markets continued to benefit from the upward momentum seen over the two previous sessions, which helped the major averages climb off their worst levels in nearly a month.
Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.
Later this week, trading may be impacted by reaction to reports on new and existing home sales and durable goods orders.
The Federal Reserve is also due to the release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting, which may shed some light on the outlook for interest rates.
Among individual stocks, shares of Blackstone Group (BX) moved sharply higher after the private equity firm and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia announced they are launching $40 billion investment vehicle to finance infrastructure renovation in the U.S.
Auto giant Ford (F) also posted a notable gain after announcing it has named Jim Hackett as its new president and CEO. Hackett succeeds Mark Fields, who has elected to retire from Ford.
On the other hand, shares of Amgen (AMGN) came under pressure after the biotech company said it does not expect its experimental osteoporosis drug Evenity to win FDA approval this year amid concerns about heart safety.
Gold stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index climbing by 1.5 percent. The strength among gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.
Significant strength was also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. Ciena (CIEN) led the sector higher after an upgrade by Stifel Nicolaus.
Telecom stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, resulting in a 1.7 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Telecom Index. Qualcomm (QCOM) posted a standout gain after JPMorgan Chase upgraded its rating on the company’s stock to Overweight from Neutral.
Software, transportation, and electronic stocks also moved notably higher, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the 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 valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
