Economy
S&P 500 Nears New Record Intraday High
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Monday, with the S&P 500 poised to reach a new record intraday high.
The markets may continue to benefit from optimism about U.S.-China trade talks as well as news that the European Union has granted the U.K.?s request for a Brexit deadline extension.
The move by the EU, which delays Brexit until January 31st, was widely expected but still removes the risk of a damaging no-deal split on Thursday.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve?s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
CME Group?s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 94.1 percent chance that the Fed will cut interest rates by another 25 basis points.
Some closely watched economic data is also scheduled to be released later this week, including the Labor Department?s monthly jobs report on Friday.
Traders are also likely to keep an eye on reports on third quarter GDP, personal income and spending and manufacturing activity.
Stocks recovered from an initial move to the downside and moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday. With the upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached their best closing levels in three months.
The major averages pulled back off their highs of the session but remained firmly positive. The Dow climbed 152.53 points or 0.6 percent to 26,958.06, the Nasdaq advanced 57.32 points or 0.7 percent to 8,243.12 and the S&P 500 rose 12.26 points or 0.4 percent to 3,022.55.
For the week, the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged up by 1.9 percent, the S&P 500 jumped by 1.2 percent and the Dow climbed by 0.7 percent.
The strength on Wall Street came after a statement from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said the U.S. and China have made progress toward finalizing a phase one trade deal.
The statement was released by the USTR following a phone call between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
“They made headway on specific issues and the two sides are close to finalizing some sections of the agreement,” the USTR said. “Discussions will go on continuously at the deputy level, and the principals will have another call in the near future.”
The upbeat comments about the trade talks added to the positive sentiment seen in reaction to the latest batch of earnings.
Shares of Intel (INTC) moved sharply higher after the semiconductor giant released its third quarter results, spiking by 8.1 percent to a six-month high.
Intel reported better than expected quarterly results, raised its full-year revenue guidance, and added $20 billion to its stock repurchase program.
Credit card giant Visa (V) also posted a notable gain after reporting third quarter results that beat estimates and increasing its quarterly dividend by 20 percent.
Meanwhile, shares of Amazon (AMZN) climbed well off their lows of the session but still ended the session in the red.
The drop by Amazon came after the online retail giant reported weaker than expected third quarter earnings and provided a disappointing forecast for holiday sales.
On the U.S. economic front, revised data released by the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment improved by slightly less than initially estimated in the month of October.
The report said the consumer sentiment index for October was downwardly revised to 95.5 from the preliminary reading of 96.0. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.
Despite the downward revision, the consumer sentiment index for October was still up from the final September reading of 93.2.
“Sentiment was insignificantly below the mid month level, with the small loss spread over most components of the Index,” said Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin.
He added, “The overall level of consumer confidence has remained quite favorable and largely unchanged during the past few years.”
Reflecting the positive reaction to Intel’s earnings, semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index subsequently surged up by 2.1 percent, ending the session at a new record closing high.
Significant strength was also visible among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.
Steel stocks also moved notably higher amid optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index climbing by 1.6 percent to its best closing level in a month.
Energy, computer hardware and banking stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while interest rate-sensitive utilities and commercial real estate stocks bucked the uptrend.
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.
