Economy
Futures Pointing To Early Strength On Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Wednesday after ending the previous session modestly lower. After disappointing earnings news from Goldman Sachs (GS) weighed on the markets on Tuesday, the markets may benefit from upbeat news from Morgan Stanley (MS).
Overall trading activity on the day may be somewhat subdued, however, with lingering geopolitical uncertainty keeping some traders on the sidelines.
Stocks saw modest weakness during trading on Tuesday following the rally seen on Monday. The major averages came under pressure in morning trading but regained some ground as the day progressed.
While the major averages closed in negative territory, they were well off their worst levels of the day. The Dow fell 113.64 points or 0.6 percent to 20,523.28, the Nasdaq edged down 7.32 points or 0.1 percent to 5,849.47 and the S&P 500 dipped 6.82 points or 0.3 percent to 2,342.19.
Negative sentiment was generated in reaction to quarterly results from Goldman Sachs (GS), as the financial giant reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings on disappointing trading revenue.
Shares of Goldman Sachs moved notably lower on the news, slumping by 4.7 percent to their lowest closing level in well over four months.
Geopolitical concerns also generated some selling pressure after North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol told the BBC the communist nation plans to conduct weekly missile tests.
Han also warned that the U.S. would face “all out war” if it responded to the continued missile tests with military action.
Vice President Mike Pence has said “all options are on the table” to address North Korea’s missile and nuclear testing programs, declaring that “the era of strategic patience is over.”
Uncertainty about the outcome of the French presidential election also weighed on the markets ahead of the first round of voting on Sunday.
News that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has called for early elections has added to the political uncertainty in Europe.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a sharp pullback in new residential construction in the month of March.
The report said housing starts plunged by 6.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.215 million in March from an upwardly revised 1.303 million in February. Economists had expected housing starts to drop by 2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, jumped by 3.6 percent to a rate of 1.260 million in March from a revised 1.216 million in February. Building permits had been expected to climb by 3.1 percent.
A separate report from the Federal Reserve showed that industrial production increased in line with economist estimates in March, reflecting a substantial rebound in utilities output.
The report said industrial production climbed by 0.5 percent in March after inching up by 0.1 percent in February. The increase in production matched the consensus estimate.
Biotechnology stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 1.3 percent. The index gave back ground after closing higher in the three previous sessions.
Within the biotech sector, Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) posted a steep loss after pricing an underwritten public offering of 60, million shares of its common stock at $1.15 per share.
Considerable weakness was also visible among pharmaceutical stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index. With the decline, the index fell to a two-month closing low.
Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) led the way lower after reporting better than expected first quarter earnings but on revenues that came in below estimates.
Energy, steel, and banking stocks saw also some weakness on the day, while most of the other major sectors ended the session showing more modest moves.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite signs that Nigeria’s headline inflation is easing, rising food prices continue to threaten the country’s inflation outlook, the chief executive of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Mr Muda Yusuf, has warned.
He noted that structural inflationary pressures in the real economy remain pronounced despite improving macroeconomic stability.
In a policy brief released following the inflation report, he noted that headline inflation eased marginally, while month-on-month change moderated from 1.75 per cent to 1.66 per cent, indicating that headline inflation has largely plateaued.
According to him, the dominant concern in the latest inflation report is the renewed acceleration in food inflation.
This growth, he said, suggested that food prices have resumed an upward trajectory after a brief period of moderation.
Warning that a renewed increase in food inflation has significant economic and social implications, he stressed that food inflation remained the biggest driver of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis, stressing that rising food prices continue to erode household purchasing power, worsen poverty and food insecurity while weakening the inclusiveness of the current reform programme.
He maintained that sustained moderation in food prices is critical to improving citizens’ welfare and strengthening public confidence in the ongoing economic reforms.
Acknowledging the easing of core inflation as encouraging, he drew attention to the persistence of urban inflation.
At 16.08 per cent, urban inflation exceeded the national headline inflation rate of 15.91 per cent, while month-on-month urban inflation increased from 1.99 per cent to 2.13 per cent.
According to Mr Yusuf, the figures indicated that inflationary pressures remained particularly intense across urban centres.
He attributed the rising urban inflation partly to increasing population displacement from rural communities affected by insecurity, expressing worry that as more households migrate to urban areas, demand for housing, transportation, utilities and other essential services would increase, adding to inflationary pressures and creating additional urbanisation challenges.
Addressing insecurity in farming communities, he said, was important not only for protecting lives and property and boosting agricultural output but also for easing cost pressures in urban centres, adding that the June CPI data reinforced the view that Nigeria’s inflation challenge is predominantly structural rather than monetary.
On the monetary policy outlook, he said the data do not justify further monetary tightening, arguing that headline inflation has largely stabilised.
The CPPE chief expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to retain the current monetary policy rate at its next meeting, adding that the priority is for monetary and fiscal authorities to work together to accelerate structural reforms to expand food supply, improve logistics, reduce energy and production costs, lower debt service costs, as well as strengthen domestic value chains.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Additional shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The new equities were added to the company’s existing stocks on Customs Street on Thursday, July 16, 2026, a notice from the bourse confirmed.
Business Post reports the total new ordinary shares of Sterling Holdings listed yesterday were 13,812,239,000 units.
They were from the offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each sold for N7.00 per share, which was oversubscribed by investors.
The financial institution brought the new shares to the stock exchange to increase its total issued and fully paid-up shares to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 52,117,012,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 13,812,239,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc were on Thursday, July 16, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N7.00 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have now increased from 52,117,012,414 to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the notice read.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has signed a Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, establishing a new framework to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets across government agencies as Nigeria seeks to curb fraud while supporting innovation in the digital economy.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, creates a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to harmonise oversight of cryptocurrencies, tokenised assets, stablecoins, and other digital assets without creating a new regulator.
As part of the new framework, the CBN will establish a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible firms to test virtual asset products, blockchain solutions, and related services under regulatory supervision before they are introduced to the wider market.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
According to the presidency, the Executive Order responds to the growing complexity of virtual assets, which increasingly cut across the traditional boundaries of currencies, securities, commodities, and payment systems.
The fragmented regulatory environment has left gaps that have exposed Nigeria to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses.
The government said some unregistered operators have exploited these regulatory gaps to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians, resulting in significant financial losses.
“The Order is designed to close these gaps through supervisory coordination, without introducing new layers of regulation or displacing the mandates of existing agencies,” the statement read.
Under the new framework, the Virtual Asset Council will be chaired by the CBN, with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice chairs. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will provide policy direction, improve cooperation among participating agencies, and work with the Attorney General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm. The office will be domiciled at the CBN and will coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among the participating agencies through a shared supervisory technology platform.
The presidency stressed that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies, clarifying that instead, each institution will continue to exercise its existing mandate while working within a coordinated framework.
Under the arrangement, registration of virtual asset businesses will depend on the nature of the service being offered.
Activities classified as securities will continue to be regulated by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and other services involving non-security virtual assets will fall under the CBN.
Where there is uncertainty over regulatory jurisdiction, the Virtual Asset Council will determine the appropriate supervising agency.
“The sandbox will provide a controlled environment in which eligible operators can test and operate virtual asset products, services, and blockchain-based solutions under close supervision, enabling the participating agencies to assess the implications for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and revenue administration before products reach the wider market,” the statement added.
According to the presidency, the sandbox will enable regulators to evaluate the implications of emerging products for financial stability, monetary sovereignty, consumer protection, financial inclusion, market integrity, and revenue administration.
The central bank is expected to announce further details of the sandbox.
