Economy
Stocks to Watch Out For This Week
Analysts at Meristem Research have released stocks investors to watch out for in this trading week at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
“Beyond fundamental valuations, stock price movement is also tied to investor sentiments. This report seeks to envisage trends and patterns using technical analysis indicators.
“Therefore, our intention with this report is not to give stock recommendation which is largely based on fundamental analysis, but to provide an alternative perspective to the outlook of market and stock prices & volume behaviour,” Meristem Research warns.
Below are the stocks:
CILEASING
In the just concluded week, the stock gained 12.26% WoW, pushing its YtD return further into the positive territory at 138.00%.
The RSI at 72.84 indicates the ticker is currently at the overbought region.
Continued upward movement is however supported by the currently bullish candlestick and the MACD which shows positive momentum.
While it is expected that the stock may continue on its positive path for the first few trading days, a negative close is highly anticipated given the likely sell pressures to be experienced on the ticker on the last trading days.
GTBank
The ticker lost by 4.00% in the week, to close at NGN37.00 settling its year to date return at 49.80%.
The RSI at 36.13 signifies that the ticker is very close to the oversold region. However, the MACD shows increasing negative sentiments on the counter.
Also, the candle shows that there are negative sentiments on the counter.
Given that the stock is currently trading close to its 5-yr high, there might be a decline in the price of the stock at the beginning of the week.
NEIMETH
The ticker led the losers’ chart last week, shedding 15.66% to close at NGN0.70.
The RSI at 23.74 signifies that the ticker has slipped into the oversold region. The MACD however, still shows strong negative momentum the counter.
The stock appears to be nearing its 4-month support zone of NGN0.64-NGN0.68. Furthermore, the breakout from below the lower Bollinger band signals a reversal in the current bearish sentiments.
Given the significant WoW loss, speculative activities may indeed lead to an upturn in the stock’s price however the company’s weak fundamentals may weigh on any expected rebound.
Zenith Bank
Following a WoW decline of 4.25%, the ticker closed the week at NGN22.10.
The RSI at 37.45 shows that the stock is approaching the oversold region.
The bearish candlesticks show that sell pressures are still quite strong on the counter. The MACD also indicated widening negative sentiments.
It appears that the downward trend on the counter may persist for a couple of trading sessions. However, given the strong fundamentals of the company, we expect bargain hunting to ensue.
NEM Insurance
Gaining 19.00% WoW, the counter emerged as last week’s top outperformer.
Although the RSI at 69.51 signifies that the stock is on the verge of crossing into the overbought region, the stock’s price graph still shows bullish candlesticks.
Similarly, the MACD signals growing positive momentum on the ticker. The breakout above the upper Bollinger band however signals a reversal in the current buy sentiments.
It is expected that the positive momentum towards the will linger for a short while however profit-taking activities are also highly likely at or shortly before the close of the week.
Source: Meristem Research
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading 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 traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
