Economy
US Stocks Open Lower on Trade Deal Skepticism
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to give back ground following the rally seen in the previous session.
Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street, as traders cash in on the strong gains posted on Monday in reaction to the trade war truce reached by President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Uncertainty about whether the 90-day truce will give the U.S. and China enough time to reach a long-term trade agreement may inspire traders to cash in on yesterday?s strong upward move.
News that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, one of Trump?s more hawkish advisors on trade with China, has been tapped to lead the negotiations has added to the skepticism.
Trump has appeared optimistic about the potential for an agreement, claiming U.S. relations with China have taken a ?big lead forward? as a result of his meeting with XI.
?Very good things will happen,? Trump said in a post on Twitter. ?We are dealing from great strength, but China likewise has much to gain if and when a deal is completed. Level the field!?
?President Xi and I have a very strong and personal relationship,? he added. ?He and I are the only two people that can bring about massive and very positive change, on trade and far beyond, between our two great Nations.?
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data likely to keep some traders on the sidelines.
Tomorrow?s national day of mourning for former President George H.W. Bush may also limit trading activity, as the NYSE and the Nasdaq will be closed on the day and the release of most economic data has been postponed.
After moving sharply higher at the open, stocks gave back some ground but managed to remain firmly positive throughout the trading session on Monday. With the advance on the day, the major averages added to the substantial gains posted last week.
The major averages moved roughly sideways for much of the session before closing significantly higher. The Dow surged up 287.97 points or 1.1 percent to 25,826.43, the Nasdaq soared 110.98 points or 1.5 percent to 7,441.51 and the S&P 500 shot up 30.20 points or 1.1 percent to 2,790.37.
The initial jump on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to the highly anticipated meeting between Trump and Xi over the weekend.
At the meeting, Trump and Xi agreed to a 90-day truce in the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies as they work to reach a long-term trade deal.
A White House statement said Trump agreed not to raise the tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent on January 1st as planned.
In return, China agreed to purchase a “not yet agreed upon, but very substantial, amount” of agricultural, energy, industrial, and other product from the U.S.
The White House said the U.S. and China will use the next 90 days to attempt to reach an agreement on issues such as forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, and non-tariff barriers.
If the two countries are not able to reach an agreement by the end of the time period, the 10 percent tariffs on Chinese goods will be raised to 25 percent.
In remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump called the agreement with Xi an “incredible deal,” claiming it will have an “incredibly positive impact” on “every type of product.”
Trump also said China will be “opening up” and “getting rid of tariffs,” stating in a subsequent post on Twitter that China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into the country from the U.S.
Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, noted Trump ripped up an earlier trade deal with China negotiated by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
“We suspect that since he negotiated this deal himself, Trump will be much more reluctant to torpedo it when his own personal reputation is on the line,” Ashworth said.
He added, “Nevertheless, his own administration includes plenty of China hawks who are pushing the protectionist agenda, so we suspect China will have to offer a little more than the minor concessions that South Korea, Mexico and Canada agreed to reach trade deals with the U.S.”
On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in manufacturing activity in the month of November.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index climbed to 59.3 in November after falling to 57.7 in October, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 57.5.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Commerce Department showed construction spending unexpectedly edged lower in October.
Energy stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, benefiting from a sharp increase by the price of crude oil.
Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiked by 3.5 percent, while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index both surged up by 2.7 percent.
Considerable strength also emerged among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 3.4 percent rally by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Steel, semiconductor, gold, and retail stocks also saw significant strength on the day, reflecting broad based buying interest on Wall Street.
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.
