Economy
Wall Street Opens Flat After Monday’s Rally
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Tuesday following the rally seen in the previous session.
Uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets may keep some traders on the sidelines after yesterday?s advance lifted the Dow and the Nasdaq to nearly six-month closing highs.
Traders may be looking for more concrete developments out of ongoing U.S.-China trade talks before making more significant moves.
Additionally, a report from the Commerce Department may partly offset the positive sentiment generated by the upbeat manufacturing data released on Monday.
The report showed a steep drop in durable goods orders in the month of February, although the decrease was largely due to a nosedive in orders for transportation equipment.
Stocks showed a substantial move to the upside during the trading day on Monday, adding to the strong gains posted last week. With the upward move, the Dow and the Nasdaq ended the session at their best closing levels in nearly six months.
The major averages reached new highs late in the session but gave back ground going into the close. The Dow jumped 329.74 points or 1.3 percent to 26,258.42, the Nasdaq soared 99.59 points or 1.3 percent to 7,828.91 and the S&P 500 surged up 32.79 points or 1.2 percent to 2,867.19.
The rally on Wall Street reflected continued optimism about U.S.-China trade talks as well as a positive reaction to upbeat U.S. and Chinese manufacturing data.
Official data showed Chinese manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew for the first time in fourth months in March. A private survey also showed the manufacturing sector in the world’s second biggest economy returning to growth.
Additionally, Beijing announced that it will continue to suspend additional tariffs on U.S. vehicles and auto parts after April 1 as a gesture after Washington delayed tariff hikes on Chinese imports.
A delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is headed to Washington later this week for another round of trade talks.
Further buying interest was generated by a report from the Institute for Supply Management unexpectedly showing a faster rate of growth in U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of March.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index rose to 55.3 in March after falling to 54.2 in February, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.
“Comments from the panel reflect continued expanding business strength, supported by gains in new orders and employment,” said Timothy Fiore, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. retail sales in February, as the report also showed a significant upward revision to the increase in sales in the previous month.
The report said retail sales dipped by 0.2 percent in February after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in January.
Economists had expected sales to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding a rebound in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales fell by 0.4 percent in February after jumping by a revised 1.4 percent in January.
Ex-auto sales had been expected to climb by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.9 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Oil service stocks saw considerable strength on the day, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 3.4 percent. The strength in the sector came amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil.
Steel stocks also moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, as the upbeat manufacturing data generated optimism about global demand. Reflecting the strength in the steel sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index spiked by 3.3 percent.
Significant strength was also visible among financial stocks, with the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index and the KBW Bank Index soaring by 3.2 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
Semiconductor, transportation, and computer hardware stocks also moved notably higher, while gold stocks bucked the uptrend amid a decrease 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.
