Economy
Wall Street Focuses on Comey, ECB, UK Polls
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Thursday, as traders focus on several key events scheduled on the day. Traders are digesting the European Central Bank’s latest monetary policy announcement and comments by ECB President Mario Draghi.
Shortly after the start of trading, former FBI Director James Comey is scheduled to begin his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
With Comey’s prepared remarks already released, traders are likely to keep an eye on the question-and-answer portion of his testimony.
The general election in the U.K. is also likely to attract attention, although the results will not be known until after the markets close.
Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Wednesday but managed to end the day modestly higher. The higher close on the day came on the heels of the pullback seen over the two previous sessions.
The major averages closed in positive territory but still off the record highs set last Friday. The Dow rose 37.46 points or 0.2 percent to 21,173.69, the Nasdaq climbed 22.32 points or 0.4 percent to 6,297.38 and the S&P 500 edged up 3.81 points or 0.2 percent to 2,433.14.
Traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of several potentially market-moving events on both sides of the Atlantic.
Former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee is likely to be in the spotlight today.
Comey’s prepared statement released by the committee appears to confirm some recent reports about his interactions with President Donald Trump, including the president’s request for loyalty.
In the statement, Comey notes that Trump told him, “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty” during a dinner at the White House in January.
Comey also seems to confirm reports that Trump wanted him to drop an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s contact with Russian officials.
A day before Comey is due to testify, Trump announced on Twitter that he intends to nominate former Justice Department official Christopher Wray as the new FBI Director.
Airline stocks showed a strong move to the upside over the course of the trading session, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 1.6 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in over fifteen years.
Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings (HA) posted a substantial gain after raising its expectations for growth in second quarter operating revenue per available seat mile.
Significant strength was also visible among banking and trucking stocks, with the Dow Jones Banks Index and the Dow Jones Trucking Index climbing by 1.1 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, energy stocks saw substantial weakness amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil. Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plummeted by 4.5 percent, the NYSE Natural Gas Index tumbled by 3.2 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index slumped by 1.7 percent.
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.
