Economy
Wall Street Opens Higher on Upbeat Earnings News
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside following the sell-off seen in the previous session.
The upward momentum on Wall Street comes as upbeat earnings news from several big-name companies has overshadowed concerns about the global economic outlook.
Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble (PG) is likely to see initial strength after reporting better than expected fiscal second quarter results.
Shares of United Technologies (UTX) are also moving notably higher in pre-market trading after the industrial conglomerate reported fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Tech giant IBM Corp. (IBM) is also likely to move to the upside after reporting fourth quarter results that beat estimates after the close of trading on Tuesday.
The earnings news has offset concerns about U.S.-China trade talks raised by reports the U.S. rejected China’s offer to hold a preparatory meeting in Washington ahead of next week’s high-level trade talks.
Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session on Tuesday, partly offsetting the rally seen last week. With the sell-off on the day, the major averages pulled back after ending last Friday’s trading at their best closing levels in well over a month.
The major averages ended the day off their lows of the session but still firmly in negative territory. The Dow tumbled 301.87 points or 1.2 percent to 24,404.48, the Nasdaq plunged 136.87 points or 1.9 percent to 7,020.36 and the S&P 500 slumped 37.81 points or 1.4 percent to 2,632.90.
The pullback on Wall Street reflected concerns about the global economy after the International Monetary Fund said the global expansion is weakening at a rate that is somewhat faster than expected.
The IMF lowered its forecasts for global economic growth to 3.5 percent in 2019 and 3.6 percent in 2020, 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points below last October’s projections.
An escalation of trade tensions and a worsening of financial conditions are key sources of risk to the outlook, the IMF said.
The IMF also expressed concerns about a bigger than expected slowdown in Chinese growth, the Brexit cliffhanger, and the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
In remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde noted risks to the global economy are increasingly intertwined.
“Think of how higher tariffs and rising uncertainty over future trade policy fed into lower asset prices and higher market volatility,” Lagarde said. “This in turn contributed to tightening financial conditions, including for advanced economies, which is a major risk factor in a world of high debt burdens. “
“Does that mean that a global recession is around the corner? The answer is ‘no,'” she added. “But the risk of a sharper decline in global growth has certainly increased.”
Adding to the economic worries, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing a much steeper than expected drop in U.S. existing home sales in the month of December.
NAR said existing home sales plummeted by 6.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.99 million in December after jumping by 2.1 percent to a revised rate of 5.33 million in November.
Economists had expected existing home sales to slump by 1.3 percent to a rate of 5.25 million from the 5.32 million originally reported for the previous month.
With the much bigger than expected decrease, existing home sales tumbled to their lowest level since November of 2015.
Oil service stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plunging by 3.8 percent after ending last Friday’s trading at its best closing level in over a month.
Halliburton (HAL) posted a steep loss after reporting fourth quarter earnings that exceeded estimates but disappointing North American revenues.
Significant weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Computer hardware, retail, tobacco, and biotechnology stocks also saw considerable weakness, while gold stocks were among the few groups to buck the downtrend.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the 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 valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
