Economy
Optimism About Chinese Stimulus May Generate Early Buying Interest
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Friday following the lackluster performance in the previous session.
Early buying interest may be generated amid optimism about U.S.-China trade talks as well as indications of more Chinese economic stimulus.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged support for the slowing economy during his annual news conference at the end of the National People’s Congress.
Li said the country could use reserve requirements and interest rates to prevent a sharper deceleration in the world’s second-largest economy.
However, the positive sentiment may be partly offset by a report from the New York Federal Reserve showing an unexpected slowdown in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity.
Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Thursday following the notable upward move seen on Wednesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
Eventually, the major averages ended the day mixed. While the Dow inched up 7.05 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 25,709.94, the Nasdaq dipped 12.50 points or 0.2 percent to 7,630.91 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.44 points or 0.1 percent to 2.808.48.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came on the heels of recent volatility on Wall Street, with the upward move seen over the past few sessions largely offsetting the pullback seen last week.
Uncertainty about Brexit also kept traders on the sidelines, with members of parliament voting in favor of delaying Brexit after they rejected the idea of leaving the European Union without a deal.
Renewed concerns about a potential trade deal between the U.S. and China weighed on the markets after a report from Bloomberg said a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping has been pushed back.
Citing three people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the meeting to sign an agreement to end the U.S.-China trade war won’t occur this month and is more likely to happen in April at the earliest.
The report from Bloomberg comes after Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he is in “no rush” to complete a trade deal with China.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a substantial pullback in new home sales in the month of January.
The Commerce Department said new home sales plunged by 6.9 percent to an annual rate of 607,000 in January from a revised rate of 652,000 in December.
Economists had expected new home sales to edge down to a rate of 620,000 from the 621,000 originally reported for the previous month.
Before the start of trading, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by more than expected in the week ended March 9th.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 229,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 223,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge up to 225,000.
A separate report released by the Labor Department showed U.S. import and export prices both rose by more than anticipated in the month of February.
The Labor Department said import prices climbed by 0.6 percent in February after inching up by a revised 0.1 percent in January.
Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.5 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
The report said export prices also increased by 0.6 percent in February after falling by a revised 0.5 percent in January.
Export prices had been expected to tick up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.6 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.
Substantial weakness was visible among gold stocks, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunging by 2.9 percent after trending higher over the past few sessions. Gold stocks pulled back along with the price of the precious metal.
Steel stocks also showed a notable move to the downside over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 1.3 percent.
Chemical and biotechnology stocks also saw some weakness on the day, while moderate strength emerged among financial stocks.
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.
