Economy
Trade Concerns May Continue to Weigh on US Stocks
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to extend the pullback seen over the course of the previous session.
The downward momentum on Wall Street may partly reflect concerns about the global economic impact on the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and other major economies.
Negative sentiment may also be generated in reaction to a Commerce Department report showing weaker than previously estimated U.S. economic growth in the first quarter.
After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks turned lower over the course of the trading session on Wednesday. The major averages all pulled back off their best levels of the day and into negative territory.
The major averages ended the session just off their worst levels of the day. The Dow fell 165.52 points or 0.7 percent to 24,117.59, the Nasdaq plunged 116.54 points or 1.5 percent to 7,445.08 and the S&P 500 slid 23.43 points or 0.9 percent to 2,699.63.
Stocks initially benefited from news that President Donald Trump’s plan to crack down on Chinese investments in the U.S. is less harsh than feared.
Administration officials told reporters Trump wants to strengthen the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to prevent foreign companies from violating intellectual-property rights of American companies.
Trump expressed support for legislation that would expand CFIUS’ authority in a White House statement released Wednesday.
The president said the bill known as the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act would enhance the administration’s ability to protect the U.S. from new and evolving threats posed by foreign investment.
Trump argued the legislation would still sustain the strong, open investment environment to which the country is committed and which benefits the U.S. economy.
Reports earlier this week suggested Trump intended to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to limit Chinese investment in the U.S.
However, technology stocks came under pressure over the course of the session, contributing to the steep drop by the Nasdaq.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing a smaller than expected decrease in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of May.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders fell by 0.6 percent in May after tumbling by a revised 1.0 percent in April.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to drop by 1.0 percent compared to the 1.6 percent slump that had been reported for the previous month.
Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders dipped by 0.3 percent in May after spiking by 1.9 percent in April. Ex-transportation orders had been expected to rise by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the National Association of Realtors showed an unexpected decrease in pending home sales in May.
NAR said its pending home sales index fell by 0.5 percent to 105.9 in May after slumping by 1.3 percent to 106.4 in April. Economists had expected pending home sales to climb by 0.5 percent.
Biotechnology stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 2.8 percent. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in over a month.
Substantial weakness also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index also slid to its worst closing level in well over a month.
Financial, steel, gold and computer hardware stocks also came under pressure over the course of the session, contributing to the pullback by the broader markets.
On the other hand, significant strength remained visible among energy stocks, which moved higher along with the price of crude oil.
Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index surged up by 2.9 percent, while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index both climbed by 1.1 percent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for 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 transacted for N415.7 million.
