Economy
US Stocks Open Higher on Positive Developments Overseas
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside following the sharp pullback in the previous session.
News that Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has withdrawn a controversial extradition bill may contribute to initial strength on Wall Street.
The bill, which would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China, sparked widespread protests across Hong Kong.
Positive sentiment may also be generated in reaction to a report showing growth in China?s service sector accelerated in August despite broader economic headwinds.
Stocks showed a notable move to the downside during trading on Tuesday as traders returned to their desks following the long holiday weekend. With the pullback on the day, the major averages partly offset the strong gains posted last week.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels of the day but still closed firmly in negative territory. The Dow slumped 285.26 points or 1.1 percent to 26,118.02, the Nasdaq tumbled 88.72 points or 1.1 percent to 7,874.16 and the S&P 500 slid 20.19 points or 0.7 percent to 2,906.27.
Initial selling pressure was generated in reaction to new tariffs taking effect over the Labor Day weekend in the escalating U.S.-China trade.
The U.S. officially imposed a 15 percent tariff on approximately $112 billion worth of Chinese imports, leading to Chinese retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars worth of U.S. goods.
President Donald Trump repeated his claim in remarks to reporters on Sunday that China is paying for the tariffs by devaluing their currency.
Trump indicated U.S. and Chinese officials still plan to meet for trade talks this month but argued the U.S. “can’t allow China to rip us off anymore as a country.”
In a series of tweets this morning, Trump threatened to get tougher on China if he wins re-election and dismissed suggestions that he work with the European Union to go after Chinese trade practices.
Stocks saw further downside following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing U.S. manufacturing activity contracted for the first time in three years.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index fell to 49.1 in August after dipping to 51.2 in July, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction in manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 51.0.
With the bigger than expected decrease, the PMI dropped below 50 for the first time since August of 2016 and hit its lowest level since January of 2016.
“Comments from the panel reflect a notable decrease in business confidence,” said Timothy R. Fiore, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
He added, “August saw the end of the PMI expansion that spanned 35 months, with steady expansion softening over the last four months.”
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed construction spending inched up by less than expected in the month of July.
Steel stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, giving back ground following the substantial rebound seen over the three previous sessions.
The NYSE Arca Steel Index tumbled by 2.6 percent, pulling back toward the nearly three-year closing low set a week ago.
Substantial weakness also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The index ended the session at an eight-month closing low.
Banking, semiconductor, and oil service stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, while utilities and gold stocks bucked the downtrend.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shareholders of Unilever Nigeria Plc will receive an interim dividend of N2 per share, the board of the organisation has said.
The cash reward was announced after the company released its financial statements for the first half of the year ended June 30, 2026.
The payment will be made on Friday, August 14, 2026, only to investors whose names appear on the Register of Members at the close of business on Friday, July 31, 2026.
A quick look at the financial performance of the firm in the first six months of this year showed that revenue improved by 22.22 per cent to N119.9 billion from the N98.1 billion achieved in the corresponding period of last year.
A rise in earnings also resulted in a 16.43 per cent surge in cost of sales, though this did not shrink the gross profit, which rose by 29.93 per cent to N54.7 billion from N42.1 billion. The operating profit stood at N24.4 billion in the period under review, higher than N18.8 billion in the same period of 2025, while the net finance income contracted by 9.43 per cent to N4.8 billion from N5.3 billion due to elevated borrowing costs.
Business Post reports that despite higher taxes paid in the first six months of 2026, the net profit grew by 8.33 per cent to N15.6 billion from N14.4 billion, enabling the board to pass on value to shareholders for their faith in the firm.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange opened the week with a 0.52 per cent rise on Monday, July 20, driven by renewed buying interest.
The volume of securities traded during the opening session surged by 6,663.3 per cent to 52.6 million units from the previous 777,002 units, and the value of securities rose by 200.9 per cent to N191.2 million from the preceding session’s N104.2 million, while the number of deals depreciated by 15.2 per cent to 28 deals compared to the preceding session’s 33 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion in trades, 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 transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
Yesterday, there were two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slid by 66 Kobo to end at N141.15 per unit versus last Friday’s N141.81 per unit, Food Concepts Plc lost 24 Kobo to close at N2.31 per share versus N2.55 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 17 Kobo to settle at N2.25 per unit compared with the previous closing price of N2.42 per unit.
Conversely, CSCS Plc chalked up N5.19 to close at N99.33 per share versus N94.14 per share, and Mass Telecoms Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to sell at 35 Kobo per unit from 32 Kobo per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N13.57 billion to N2.606 trillion from N2.593 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 22.6 points to quote at 4,343.27 points, in contrast to the previous 4,320.67 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira almost traded flat against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, July 20. It gained 7 Kobo during the session to sell at N1,380.11/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s value of N1,380.18/$1.
It also appreciated against the Euro in the same market window during the session by N1.64 to close at N1,575.95/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,576.99/€1, but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by N2.93 to trade at N1,857.35/£1 compared with the previous trading day’s N1,854.42/£1.
At the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian Naira lost N1 against the US Dollar to quote at N1,389/$1 versus N1,388/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,405/$1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover settled at $266.2 million, 7.5 per cent lower than the previous close of $287.8 million. Also, the number of deals at the interbank FX market declined to 68 from 106.
Despite this, there are signals that the Naira has pillars that can prop up its stability. Updated data from the apex bank showed Nigeria’s gross foreign exchange reserves increased to $51.92 billion as of July 16, 2026, reflecting continued improvements in the country’s external position.
A slew of analysts predict further increases will lift the gross balance above $52 billion this week, the highest seen since 2009.
Also, there are expectations that the country will be able to boost remittances into the country to $1 billion on a monthly basis by the end of the year; this will help ease pressure on the FX markets.
Meanwhile, in the crypto market, Bitcoin (BTC) climbed to about $65,500, reaching a two-week high, as the semiconductor selloff that dragged crypto lower last week reversed and Asian chip stocks led a broad risk rally. It rose by 2.4 per cent to $65,676.01.
There was also support from five straight days of inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs totalling more than $600 million, marking the strongest stretch of institutional buying since mid-July.
Cardano (ADA) jumped by 8.3 per cent to $0.1756, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 4.0 per cent to $1,930.33, Ripple (XRP) improved by 3.9 per cent to $1.13, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $78.34, Binance Coin (BNB) added 1.9 per cent to sell for $575.34, and Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 1.7 per cent rise to $0.0729.
However, TRON (TRX) declined by 0.1 per cent to $0.3261, and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each
