Economy
Tech Stocks Likely to Catch Investors’ Attention on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday following the substantial volatility seen in the previous session.
The markets may benefit from bargain hunting after the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended Wednesday?s trading at its lowest closing level in well over a month.
Trading activity is likely to be somewhat subdued, however, as some traders look to get a head start on the long weekend.
Technology stocks have been key drivers of the markets in recent session and are likely to remain in focus on the day.
Stocks saw considerable volatility over the course of the trading session on Wednesday following the sell-off seen Tuesday afternoon. The major averages spent the day showing wild swings back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually all closed in negative territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq once again underperforming its counterparts.
While the Nasdaq slid 59.58 points or 0.9 percent to 6,949.23, the S&P 500 fell 7.62 points or 0.3 percent to 2,605.00 and the Dow edged down 9.29 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 23,848.42.
The volatility on Wall Street extends a recent trend, as the pullback seen in the previous session came on the heels of the substantial rebound seen on Monday.
A notable decline by Amazon (AMZN) weighed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq after a report from Axios said President Donald Trump wants to “go after” the online retailer.
Sources who’ve discussed the issue with Trump told Axios the president has talked about changing Amazon’s tax treatment because he’s worried about mom-and-pop retailers being put out of business.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing stronger than previously estimated economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2017.
The report said gross domestic product climbed by 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter, reflecting an upward revision from the previously estimated 2.5 percent increase. Economists had expected the pace of GDP growth to be upwardly revised to 2.7 percent.
With the upward revision, the GDP growth in the fourth quarter reflects only a modest slowdown from the 3.2 percent jump in the third quarter.
The report paints a positive picture of the economy in the final three months of last year, although the data was likely viewed as old news.
A separate report from the National Association of Realtors showed a bigger than expected rebound in pending home sales in the month of February.
NAR said its pending home sales index jumped by 3.1 percent to 107.5 in February after plunging by 5 percent to a downwardly revised 104.3 in January. Economists had expected pending sales to climb by 2.1 percent.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
Oil service stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 2.1 percent. The index ended the session at its lowest closing level in well over three months.
The weakness among oil service stocks comes amid a decrease by the price of crude oil following the release of a report showing an unexpected weekly increase in oil inventories.
Considerable weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, which extended the sell-off seen in the previous session. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slumped by 2.1 percent to a one-month closing low.
Gold stocks also moved sharply lower amid another steep drop by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index falling by 2 percent.
Chemical and retail stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while tobacco, real estate, and pharmaceutical stocks showed strong moves to the upside.
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.
