Economy
US Stocks Open Higher on Possible Trade Talks
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Friday, as traders express continued optimism about a potential de-escalation of the U.S.-China trade war.
The upward momentum on Wall Street comes as traders cling to hopes the U.S. and China will resume trade talks next month and finally reach an elusive trade deal.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed the Chinese are desperate to reach an agreement, arguing the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are doing significant damage to the world?s second largest economy.
Trump told Fox News on Thursday that the U.S. and China were scheduled to hold talks at a ?different level,? although he did not clarify what that means.
Meanwhile, China has signaled that they do not currently intend to retaliate against Trump?s latest threat to raise the rate of tariffs on Chinese imports.
Chinese officials have expressed interest in negotiating an end to the escalating trade dispute but argued the U.S. has to create conditions for the two sides to resume talks on the basis of mutual respect.
After moving sharply higher early in the session, stocks saw some further upside over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages managed to remain firmly positive after reversing direction from their initial moves in each of the two previous sessions.
The major averages pulled back off their best levels in late-day trading but held on to strong gains. The Dow surged up 326.15 points or 1.3 percent to 26,362.25, the Nasdaq soared 116.51 points or 1.5 percent to 7,973.39 and the S&P 500 jumped 36.64 points or 1.3 percent at 2,924.58.
The initial strength on Wall Street came on the heels of indications China is seeking to de-escalate the trade war with the U.S.
Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng indicated China does not currently intend to retaliate against President Donald Trump’s latest threat to raise the rate of tariffs on Chinese imports.
“We firmly reject an escalation of the trade war, and are willing to negotiate and collaborate in order to solve this problem with calm attitude,” Gao said, according to a CNBC translation.
Gao claimed China has plenty of countermeasures it could impose but will instead focus on removing Trump’s new tariffs, which were announced after China said it plans to impose tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods.
“The most important thing at the moment is to create necessary conditions for both sides to continue negotiations,” Gao told reporters during a weekly briefing.
On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 24th.
The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 215,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 211,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to climb to 215,000 from the 209,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed the pace of growth in U.S. economic activity slowed by slightly more than initially estimated in the second quarter.
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased by 2.0 percent in the second quarter compared to the previously reported 2.1 percent growth. The downward revision came in line with economist estimates.
The downwardly revised GDP growth seen in the second quarter compares to the 3.1 percent jump in GDP reported for the first quarter.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors also released a report showing a sharp pullback in pending home sales in the month of July.
NAR said its pending home sales index tumbled by 2.5 percent to 105.6 in July after surging up by 2.8 percent to 108.3 in June. The steep drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected pending sales to come in unchanged.
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.
Reflecting the optimism about a potential de-escalation of the U.S.-China trade war, steel stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day.
The NYSE Arca Steel Index surged up by 2.4 percent, climbing further off the nearly three-year closing low set on Tuesday.
Significant strength was also visible among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index. The strength in the sector came as natural gas for October delivery climbed $0.067 to $2.289 per million BTUs.
Computer hardware, semiconductor, and transportation stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Meanwhile, gold stocks were among the few groups to buck the uptrend, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.2 percent. The index ended the previous session at a nearly three-year closing high.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A 10 per cent equity stake has been acquired by Odu’a Investment Company Limited in a subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc, FCMB Pensions Limited.
The move is aimed at strengthening its presence in Nigeria’s growing pension industry.
The company disclosed that the transaction was completed after receiving all required regulatory approvals from the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also been duly notified.
Odu’a Investment said the acquisition represents a strategic investment in a resilient and steadily expanding segment of Nigeria’s financial services sector.
The company added that the deal also reinforces FCMB Pensions’ shareholder base through the entry of a long-term institutional investor.
Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Mr Bimbo Ashiru, said the investment aligns with the organisation’s strategy of partnering with strong institutions operating in sectors critical to Nigeria’s long-term economic stability.
“This investment reflects Odu’a’s strategy of partnering with strong institutions operating in sectors that are central to Nigeria’s long-term economic stability and growth,” he said in a statement.
“The pension industry plays a critical role in mobilising long-term savings and strengthening the financial system. FCMB Pensions has built a solid platform serving contributors across Nigeria, and we see a significant opportunity to support its continued growth and impact,” he added.
Also commenting on the transaction, the Managing Director of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Mr Abdulrahman Yinusa, described the deal as a vote of confidence in FCMB Pensions’ leadership and long-term prospects.
“Our partnership with FCMB Group Plc reflects confidence in FCMB Pensions’ strategy, leadership, and long-term potential. Together, we will work to expand its reach, support its strategic objectives, and deliver sustained value to contributors and other stakeholders,” Mr Yinusa said.
The investment brings together two established institutions with complementary strengths and a shared focus on long-term value creation. According to the company, the partnership positions FCMB Pensions to deepen market penetration and enhance service delivery within Nigeria’s contributory pension scheme.
Odu’a Investment Company Limited is an investment holding company jointly owned by the governments of the six South-West states of Nigeria.
The firm manages a diversified portfolio spanning real estate, financial services, hospitality, agriculture, and industrial investments, with a mandate to generate sustainable economic value and support regional development.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The chief executive of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc, Mr Temi Popoola, has said Nigeria’s capital market is undergoing a re-rating as global investors begin to reassess the country’s economic trajectory and investment potential.
“What we are seeing is a gradual re-rating of Nigeria. investors are beginning to look at the data more closely, the returns, the reforms, and the improving macroeconomic direction, and that is changing sentiment,” he said during a live interview on BBC Newsday in London.
He is in the United Kingdom as part of broader investor and stakeholder engagements during President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to Buckingham Palace.
Mr Popoola explained that Nigeria’s equity market has delivered strong returns in recent months, positioning it more competitively among emerging and frontier markets. According to him, this performance is helping to recalibrate long-held risk perceptions and attract renewed interest from international investors.
He added that improvements in Nigeria’s energy landscape, including increased domestic refining capacity and ongoing sector reforms, are helping to reduce the economy’s exposure to external oil price shocks, further strengthening investor confidence.
Mr Popoola emphasised that beyond short-term market movements, consistency in policy implementation will be critical in sustaining this shift in perception. “Global capital responds to clarity and consistency. As those elements become more evident, Nigeria naturally becomes more investable.”
He also highlighted the importance of sustained engagement with global financial centres, noting that platforms such as London play a key role in connecting Nigeria’s capital market to international pools of capital.
According to him, Nigeria’s evolving market structure, combined with ongoing reforms, is strengthening its position as a viable destination for long-term investment. “There is a broader recognition that Nigeria offers significant opportunities. The focus now is ensuring that this recognition translates into sustained capital flows.”
The NGX group chief concluded that Nigeria’s capital market is increasingly being viewed through a more balanced and data-driven lens, reflecting both its resilience and its long-term growth potential.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Global cryptocurrency platform, Luno, has launched a structured crypto prediction markets product in Nigeria, which will enable customers to apply their market knowledge to short-term crypto price events and earn USDC when their insights are correct.
The prediction market allows customers to express a view on whether the price of selected crypto assets, being BTC, ETH, SOL, DOGE, and XRP, will be above or below the daily price event. The market operates daily with clearly defined rules and settlement periods, offering customers structured, time-bound opportunities to act on their conviction.
Nigeria remains one of the most active crypto markets globally, with increasing demand for tools that combine simplicity and transparency. By introducing Prediction Markets focused solely on price levels, Luno aims to provide a fast, confident, and opportunity-forward format for market engagement.
Unlike traditional gaming or prediction firms like Polymarket and Kalshi, in which the odds are set by the company, Luno’s Prediction Market, powered by Limitless, is focused exclusively on crypto asset price movements within the Luno platform.
This means customers are not purchasing the underlying asset, but participating in a defined, outcome-based market that settles transparently based on real-time price data.
According to a statement, the launch reflects a broader shift in how customer behaviour is evolving in Nigeria’s growing crypto asset ecosystem, particularly as crypto asset adoption matures, many users are seeking more flexible and responsive ways to engage with markets beyond long-term holding or traditional spot trading.
Luno’s Prediction Markets product is designed to meet this demand within a familiar and regulated platform environment. The feature builds on how customers already interact with crypto asset prices – analysing charts, following market news, and forming views- and provides a structured framework for expressing those views.
According to Mr Ayotunde Alabi, chief executive of Luno Nigeria, the company is combining crypto education with a secure platform to help Nigerians confidently apply their market knowledge in a responsible and practical way.
“We are seeing a clear shift in how Nigerians want to engage with crypto assets. Many already follow price movements closely and form strong market views; we want to lead with education as well as provide a safe and secure platform to help them apply that knowledge. This feature is designed to be a natural extension for those who enjoy forecasting.
“By tying this to our ongoing educational initiatives, such as our scholarships with AltSchool, we are encouraging users to apply what they have learned about market analysis into a practical, responsible framework. Our priority is ensuring that where confidence meets opportunity, it is supported by the standards of trust our customers expect.”
Luno said it will further support the rollout with Learn & Earn educational content and tutorials explaining market mechanics and price determination. To promote informed decision-making and ensure the product is used responsibly,
Luno has embedded specific controls, including customers reading and acknowledging a risk disclosure before participating, as well as moving funds from their ordinary USDC wallet to a separate prediction wallet, which will be used to participate in prediction markets.
The firm also said that customers cannot hold both sides of the same market, in this case, Above and Below at the same time.
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