Economy
Optimism About More Dovish Fed May Generate Buying Interest
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to add to the gains posted in yesterday?s volatile session.
Traders may once again look to pick up stocks at reduced levels after the markets were unable to sustain the initial upward move in the previous session.
The major averages managed to end Tuesday?s trading in positive territory, although many sectors extended recent sell-offs.
The markets may also benefit from optimism the Federal Reserve will strike a more dovish tone in its announcement of its latest monetary policy decision this afternoon.
The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point, but traders will closely scrutinize the central bank?s accompanying statement and forecasts for clues about future rate hikes.
Ahead of the announcement, President Donald Trump has been urging the Fed to refrain from its gradual pace of raising rates.
?Don?t let the market become any more illiquid than it already is,? Trump told the Fed in a post on Twitter on Tuesday. ?Stop with the 50 B’s. Feel the market, don’t just go by meaningless numbers. Good luck!?
While the Fed will not want to be seen as bowing to political pressure, the central bank may still signal a slower pace of rate hikes due to recent disappointing economic data, low inflation, and concerns about the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks continued to experience substantial volatility over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages fluctuated wildly as the day progressed before closing in positive territory.
The S&P 500 hit its lowest intraday level in over a year but ended the up just 0.22 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 2,546.16. The Dow rose 82.66 points or 0.4 percent to 23,675.64 and the Nasdaq climbed 30.18 points or 0.5 percent to 6,783.91.
The initial strength on Wall Street was partly due to bargain hunting, with traders picking up stocks at reduced levels on the heels of the sharp drop seen over the two previous sessions.
The pullback seen Monday afternoon pulled the Dow down to its lowest closing level in over eight months, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 dropped to their lowest closing levels in over a year.
The subsequent volatility came as traders remained on edge ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a substantial increase in U.S. housing starts in November, as a spike in multi-family starts more than offset a continued drop in single-family starts.
The Commerce Department said housing starts jumped by 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.256 million in November from the revised October estimate of 1.217 million.
Economists had expected housing starts to edge down to a rate of 1.225 million from the 1.228 million originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said building permits surged up by 5.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.328 million in November from the revised October rate of 1.265 million.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to dip to a rate of 1.259 million from the 1.263 million originally reported for October.
Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.3 percent. With the jump, the index reached a four-month closing high.
The rally by gold stocks came amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery rising $1.80 to $1,253.60 an ounce.
Housing stocks also saw considerable strength on the heels of the housing starts data, moving notably higher along with computer hardware and semiconductor stocks.
On the other hand, energy stocks moved sharply lower amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil. Crude for January delivery plunged $3.64 to a fifteen-month closing low of $46.24 a barrel amid concerns about oversupply.
Oil service stocks turned in some of the energy sector’s worst performances, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 2.7 percent to its lowest closing level in fifteen years.
Tobacco stocks also extended a recent sell-off, while considerable weakness also emerged among biotechnology and banking stocks.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
