Economy
US Stocks Open Higher on Easing Trade Concerns
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a modestly higher opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to attempt another rebound after turning lower over the course of the previous session.
The upward momentum on Wall Street comes after the downturn seen on Monday dragged the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 down to six-month closing lows and the Dow fell to its lowest closing level in well over three months.
Traders may once again look to pick up stocks at reduced levels after bargain hunting efforts in the previous session were thwarted by renewed concerns about the trade war between the U.S. and China.
President Donald Trump?s prediction the U.S. will reach a ?great deal? with China on trade may offset some of the concerns, although the president warned of more tariffs if a deal is not possible.
?I think that we will make a great deal with China and it has to be great, because they?ve drained our country,? Trump told Laura Ingraham of Fox News on Monday.
After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks came under pressure over the course of the trading session on Monday. The major averages pulled back well off their best levels of the day and into negative territory.
While the major averages regained some ground going into the close, they remained firmly in the red. The Dow slumped 245.39 points or 1 percent to 24,442.92, the Nasdaq tumbled 116.92 points or 1.6 percent to 7,050.29 and the S&P 500 fell 17.44 points or 0.7 percent to 2,641.25.
The sharp pullback by stocks came after report from Bloomberg said the U.S. is preparing to announce tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports if next month’s talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping fail to ease the trade war.
Citing three people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the announcement of the new round of tariffs could come by early December
Two of the people told Bloomberg the new tariffs would apply to Chinese imports that aren’t already covered by previous rounds of tariffs, or approximately $257 billion worth of goods.
The report from Bloomberg comes as Trump and Xi are expected to meet on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, beginning November 30th.
Shortly before imposing tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods in September, Trump threatened to levy duties on nearly everything China exports to the U.S.
The early strength on Wall Street came as some traders picked up stocks at reduced levels following the steep drop seen last week, extending the see-saw performance seen over the past few sessions.
Auto stocks helped to lead the way higher after a report from Bloomberg said China is considering cutting a tax on car purchases in half.
The proposal to lower the purchase tax to 5 percent from 10 percent comes as Chinese car sales are on track for their first annual drop in two decades amid the U.S.-China trade war.
News on the merger-and-acquisition front also generated some buying interest, with IBM Corp. (IBM) agreeing to acquire Linux software distributor Red Hat (RHT) for $33 billion in cash.
Buying interest waned over the course of the morning, however, with political uncertainty in Europe limiting the upside for the markets.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Commerce Department showing personal income rose by slightly less than expected in the month of September.
Oil service stocks bucked the early uptrend by the markets and saw further downside as the day progressed. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index plummeted by 4.3 percent to its lowest closing level in well over nine years.
Weatherford (WFT) led the oil service sector lower after reporting a narrower than expected third quarter loss but revenues that came in below estimates.
The sell-off by oil service stocks reflected weakness throughout the energy sector, as the price of crude oil fell sharply in electronic trading.
Significant weakness also emerged among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent slump by the Dow Jones Retail Index. With the drop, the index fell to a nearly five-month closing low.
Computer hardware, biotechnology, and networking stocks also came under pressure over the course of the session, while interest rate-sensitive utilities, banking, and commercial real estate stocks ended the day on the upside.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The N21.5 billion rights issue of Eterna Plc has commenced, with shareholders encouraged to participate in the exercise through the NGX Invest platform.
The rights issue began today, Monday, January 12, 2026, and is expected to close on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, a notice signed by the company secretary, Mr David Edet, disclosed.
Proceeds from the exercise will be deployed to support several strategic initiatives, including the expansion of Eterna’s retail network, upgrading of its lubricant blending plant, enhancement of LPG retail assets, acquisition of commercial delivery assets, expansion of aviation fuelling operations, and investments in ESG-related projects aligned with the company’s sustainability objectives.
Business Post reports that a total of 978,108,485 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each are available for grabs at the price of N22.00 each.
The stocks are being offered to existing shareholders on the basis of three new ordinary shares for every four ordinary shares held as of November 27, 2025.
Apart from buying equities of the rights issue via the NGX Invest platform, shareholders can also purchase by completing the paper participation form.
However, completed participation forms, together with payment or evidence of payment for the full amount payable, must be submitted no later than Wednesday, February 18, 2026, to any of the issuing houses or receiving agents listed in the rights circular.
The rights issue provides existing shareholders with the opportunity to increase their equity holdings in the organisation, thereby reinforcing their participation in and support for Eterna’s long-term growth strategy.
The firm disclosed in the disclosure filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited that the rights issue received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
It advised shareholders “to contact their stockbrokers and/or financial advisors for further information regarding the offer.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said it would release two inflation readings for December after a methodological change led the headline rate to more than double.
This was disclosed during a virtual stakeholders engagement convened by the NBS and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) on Monday.
The stats office explained that the expected spike in inflation is driven by technical base effects linked to the recent rebasing of the inflation series rather than changes in economic fundamentals.
According to the Statistician-General and chief executive of the NBS, Mr Adeyemi Adeniran, the inflation data due on Thursday, January 15 are projected to show an artificially spiked rate of 31.2 per cent last month, from 14.5 per cent in November. However, to provide transparency, the agency will take the unusual step of publishing both the headline rate that reflects economic fundamentals and the inflated figure.
Mr Adeniran explained that the projected December spike stems from the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which adopted 2024 as the new base year after a 15-year gap from the previous 2009 base.
He emphasised that base effects are a common feature of statistical practice, particularly in index-based measurements.
“Following the rebasing exercise and the methodology adopted for December 2025, a significant artificial spike in the inflation rate is expected, as some analysts have already projected. This spike arises from the base effect, with December 2024 equated to 100 following the rebasing.
“Base effects are common in statistical practice, particularly when comparing data across periods with unusually high or low prices. They are neither unexpected nor unusual.
“However, when such effects occur, especially when they are artificial and arithmetic rather than reflective of structural changes in the economy, it is essential to clearly communicate and explain them to users,” he stated.
“Transparency requires that we provide a clear picture of actual price changes rather than simply reporting an artificial spike that does not reflect economic realities. This is why we convened this meeting to inform our critical stakeholders and users of our data,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Terrahaptix, a Nigerian autonomous systems startup, has raised $11.75 million in a round that will see it boost drone manufacturing to tackle violent extremism spreading across Africa.
The funding round was led by 8VC founded by the co-founder of Palantir Technologies Inc., Mr Joe Lonsdale. Other investors include Valor Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel, Leblon Capital GmbH, Silent Ventures LLC, Nova Global and angel investors including Mr Meyer Malka — the managing partner of Ribbit Capital.
Terrahaptix, founded by Mr Nathan Nwachukwu and Mr Maxwell Maduka, will use the new funding to expand Terra’s manufacturing capacity as it expands into cross-border security and counter-terrorism.
The company based in Abuja produces long- and mid-range drones, autonomous sentry towers and unmanned ground vehicles to help secure infrastructure assets valued at about $11 billion across Africa, including hydropower plants in Nigeria, as well as gold- and lithium-mining operations in Ghana.
In June last year, the firm beat an Israeli company to secure a $1.2 million security contract to deploy AI-powered drones and sentry towers at two hydroelectric power plants in Nigeria, awarded by a private security firm, Nethawk Solutions.
According to Mr Nwachukwu, the CEO of Terrahaptix, the rising spate of insecurity must be tackle as the continent continues to industrialize its economy.
“Africa is industrializing faster than any other region, with new mines, refineries and power plants emerging every month,” he said, “But none of that progress will matter if we don’t solve the continent’s greatest Achilles’ heel, which is insecurity and terrorism.”
“Our mission is to give Africa the technological edge to protect its industrial future and defeat terrorism.” Mr Nwanchuku added.
On his part, Mr Maduka, the company’s co-founder and CTO, also reinforced the company’s commitment to the continent by saying, “This is African technology, built by African engineers, for African infrastructure. We are creating skilled jobs, building advanced manufacturing capacity, and ensuring the intellectual property behind Africa’s security stays on the continent.”
The need for security has risen in recent years as groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda are gaining ground in Africa, converging along a swathe of territory that stretches from Mali to Nigeria.
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