Economy
US Stocks Open Higher on Upbeat Jobs Data
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher lower opening on Friday, as much stronger than expected jobs data washed away concerns about the economic outlook.
The futures climbed more firmly into positive territory following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing much stronger than expected job growth in the month of October.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 128,000 jobs in October compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 89,000 jobs.
The report also showed substantial upward revisions to job growth in September and August, with revised data showing employment jumped by 180,000 jobs and 219,000 jobs, respectively.
With the upward revisions, employment gains in September and August combined were 95,000 more than previously reported.
Despite the stronger than expected job growth, the report said the unemployment rate inched up to 3.6 percent in October from 3.5 percent in September. The uptick matched economist estimates.
The unemployment rate crept up from the nearly 50-year low hit in the previous month as a 325-person jump in the size of the labor force more than offset a 241,000-person increase in the household survey measure of employment.
After ending Wednesday’s trading moderately higher, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday. With the drop on the day, the S&P 500 pulled back off Wednesday’s record closing high.
The major averages staged a recovery attempt going into the close but remained stuck in the red. The Dow slid 140.46 points or 0.5 percent to 27,046.23, the Nasdaq edged down 11.62 points or 0.1 percent to 8,292.36 and the S&P 500 fell 9.21 points or 0.3 percent to 3,037.56.
The pullback on Wall Street came amid renewed uncertainty about the potential for a long-term U.S.-China trade deal.
Optimism about phase one of a trade deal contributed to recent strength on Wall Street, but a new report from Bloomberg said Chinese officials are casting doubts about reaching a comprehensive long-term trade agreement.
People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Chinese officials have warned in private conversations that they are unwilling to budge on the thorniest issues.
In an apparent effort to calm the markets, President Donald Trump tweeted shortly before the start of trading that the U.S. and China are working on a new site to sign phase one of the trade deal.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had been due to meet and potentially sign the deal at the APEC summit in Chile, but the Chilean President recently called off the summit due to unrest in the country.
“China and the USA are working on selecting a new site for signing of Phase One of Trade Agreement, about 60% of total deal, after APEC in Chile was canceled do to unrelated circumstances,” Trump tweeted. “The new location will be announced soon. President Xi and President Trump will do signing!”
In a separate tweet, Trump also claimed Democrats’ “Impeachment Hoax” is hurting the stock markets as the House voted to approve a resolution that establishes the procedure for the next phase of an impeachment inquiry.
Upbeat earnings news helped limit the downside for the markets, however, with Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB) posting notable gains after reporting better than expected quarterly results.
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 October 26th.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 218,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 213,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000 from the 212,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed personal income and spending both increased in line with economist estimates in the month of September.
The report said personal income increased by 0.3 percent in September after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.5 percent in August.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said personal spending edged up by 0.2 percent, matching the revised uptick seen in August.
Computer hardware stocks turned in some of the market’s worst performances on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 1.8 percent.
Western Digital (WDC) led the sector lower after the hard drive maker reported better than expected fiscal first quarter results but provided disappointing guidance and announced the retirement of its CEO Steve Milligan.
Significant weakness was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent drop by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The weakness in the oil service sector came amid a notable decrease by the price of crude oil.
Steel stocks also saw considerable weakness amid uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade deal, moving notably lower along with transportation, chemical and financial stocks.
On the other hand, gold stocks bucked the downtrend, resulting in a 2.7 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The index ended the session at its best closing level in over a month. The rally by gold stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal.
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.
