Economy
Wall Street Opens Higher on Rate Cut Optimism
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to rebound following the modest pullback seen over the two previous sessions.
A report from the Labor Department showing bigger than expected decreases in U.S. import and export prices may add to recent optimism that tame inflation will lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in the near future.
After helping to lead the markets lower in the previous sessions, energy stocks may rebound along with the price of crude oil.
Crude for July delivery is jumping by more than $2 a barrel amid reports of a possible terrorist attack on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman near the Iranian coastline.
Stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Wednesday before ending the session modestly lower. The major averages added to the slim losses posted on Tuesday, although selling pressure remained subdued.
After snapping a six-day winning streak on Tuesday, the Dow edged down 43.68 points or 0.2 percent to 26,004.83. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 29.85 points or 0.4 percent to 7,792.72 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.88 points or 0.2 percent to 2,879.84.
The modest weakness on Wall Street came as traders weighed lingering trade concerns against optimism about an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
The U.S.-China trade conflict largely took a back seat to President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on Mexico but has moved back into the spotlight ahead of the G20 summit later this month.
In remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Trump suggested he has “no interest” in negotiating unless China agrees to come back to the table to discuss previous terms of a deal he has claimed was nearly complete.
Trump said he expects to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit and has warned that he will impose new tariffs on Chinese goods if his counterpart does not attend.
Partly offsetting the negative sentiment about trade, another report showing tame inflation has further fueled expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the near future.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index inched up by 0.1 percent in May after rising by 0.3 percent in April. The uptick in prices matched economist estimates.
Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices also edged up by 0.1 percent for the fourth consecutive month. Economists had expected core prices to rise by 0.2 percent.
The report also showed a slowdown in the annual rate of consumer price growth, with the headline index up by 1.8 percent year-over-year in May compared to the 2.0 percent increase in April.
The annual rate of core consumer price growth also slowed to 2.0 percent in May from 2.1 percent in the previous month.
“Tariff changes may eventually push up some goods prices, while apparel prices should soon rebound,” said ING Chief International Economist James Knightley. “But for now, inflation pressures in aggregate remain benign.”
He added, “As such, financial markets will see little reason for the Federal Reserve to hold back from rate cuts in coming months to combat the perceived threat of a slowdown caused by intensifying trade tensions.”
Energy stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragged down by a steep drop by the price of crude oil.
Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plummeted by 5.1 percent, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index tumbled by 3 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index slumped by 1.4 percent.
Considerable weakness also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Financial, tobacco, and computer hardware stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while significant strength was visible among gold, utilities and pharmaceutical stocks.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for 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 transacted for N415.7 million.
