Economy

US Stocks Poised to Stretch Upward Trend

Published

8 years ago

16/10/2017

By Investors Hub

The major US index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Monday, with stocks poised to extend the upward trend seen in recent sessions.

The markets may continue to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has propelled the major averages to record highs.

Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, with traders reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the key earnings news later this week.

Traders are also digesting remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who spoke at the Group of 30 International Banking Seminar on Sunday.

Despite subdued inflation, Yellen reiterated her belief additional gradual interest rate hikes are likely to be appropriate over the next few years.

“My best guess is that these soft readings will not persist, and with the ongoing strengthening of labor markets, I expect inflation to move higher next year,” Yellen said.

Stocks moved modestly higher during trading on Friday, offsetting the pullback seen last Thursday. With the upward move on the day, the Dow and the Nasdaq climbed to new record closing highs.

The major averages ended the day in positive territory but off their best levels. The Dow crept up 30.71 points or 0.1 percent to 22,871.72, the Nasdaq rose 14.29 points or 0.2 percent to 6,605.80 and the S&P 500 inched up 2.24 points or 0.1 percent to 2,553.17.

For the week, the Dow climbed by 0.4 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both edged up by 0.2 percent.

The modest strength on Wall Street came following the release of some upbeat economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing a substantial increase in retail sales in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said retail sales surged up by 1.6 percent in September after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in August.

Higher gas prices contributed to the jump in retail sales, as sales by gasoline stations soared by 5.8 percent during the month.

Closely watched core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, rose by 0.4 percent.

The University of Michigan also released a report showing an unexpected improvement in consumer sentiment in the month of October.

The report said the consumer sentiment index jumped to 101.1 in October after dipping to 95.1 in September. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 95.0.

With the unexpected increase, the consumer sentiment index surged up to its highest level reaching 103.8 in January of 2004.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed consumer prices increased by slightly less than expected in the month of September.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.5 percent in September after rising by 0.4 percent in August. Economists had expected prices to increase by 0.6 percent.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices inched up by 0.1 percent in September after edging up by 0.2 percent in August. Core prices had been expected to rise by another 0.2 percent.

Traders were also digesting the latest earnings news, including results from financial giants Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

While Bank of America reported third quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines, Wells Fargo reported third quarter revenues that came in below expectations.

Steel stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day, as upbeat Chinese trade data has generated optimism about the outlook for demand.

Reflecting the strength in the steel sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index surged up by 3.7 percent to its best closing level in over seven months.

Considerable strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. The index reached its best closing level in two months.

HP Inc. (HPQ) led the hardware sector higher after the computer and printer maker provided upbeat full-year earnings guidance and announced a 5 percent increase in its dividend.

Oil service and semiconductor stocks also saw some strength on the day, while weakness among utilities and transportation stocks limited the upside for the markets.

Economy

Customs Street Chalks up 1.08% on Renewed Buying Pressure

Published

35 minutes ago

06/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A 1.08 per cent growth was further printed by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday on improved appetite for Nigerian stocks.

Data showed that the insurance sector lost 0.61 per cent yesterday due to profit-taking as the energy space gave up 0.08 per cent, while the commodity counter closed flat.

However, the industrial goods landscape appreciated by 2.06 per cent, the banking index improved by 1.31 per cent, and the consumer goods sector expanded by 0.83 per cent.

At the close of business on Customs Street, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,563.92 points to 147,040.07 points from 145,476.15 points and the market capitalisation went up by N996 billion to N93.722 trillion from N92.726 trillion.

UAC Nigeria led the advancers’ log yesterday after it grew by 10.00 per cent to N96.80, Transcorp Hotels jumped by 9.71 per cent to N172.80, Royal Exchange appreciated by 8.89 per cent to N1.96, Ikeja Hotel soared by 8.74 per cent to N31.10, and Veritas Kapital leapt by 8.07 per cent to N1.74.

On the flip side, Union Dicon declined by 10.00 per cent to N6.30, ABC Transport slipped by 9.88 per cent to N3.10, AXA Mansard depreciated by 7.19 per cent to N12.90, FTN Cocoa lost 4.62 per cent to trade at N4.75, and Guinea Insurance dropped 3.36 per cent to finish at N1.15.

A total of 38 stocks ended on the gainers’ table and 17 stocks finished on the losers’ table, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

Traders transacted 361.6 million equities for N14.8 billion in 21,051 deals yesterday versus the 1.9 billion equities worth N19.2 billion traded in 23,369 deals a day earlier, showing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 80.97 per cent, 22.92 per cent, and 14.20 per cent, respectively.

The busiest stock for the session was Zenith Bank with 59.5 million units worth N3.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 46.1 million units valued at N973.0 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 29.4 million units for N560.4 million, FCMB transacted 27.9 million units worth N293.9 million, and Tantalizers sold 13.0 million units valued at N29.8 million.

Economy

Nipco, 11 Plc Crash OTC Securities Exchange by 4.76%

Published

2 hours ago

06/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Energy stocks influenced the 4.76 per cent loss recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, December 5.

The culprits were the duo of 11 Plc and Nipco Plc,with the former shedding N32.17 to end at N291.83 per share compared with the previous day’s N324.00 per share, and the latter down by N21.00 to sell at N195.00 per unit versus the previous session’s N216.00 per unit.

Consequently, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slumped by 170.16 points to 3,401.37 points from 3,571.53 points and the market capitalisation lost N101.81 billion to close at N2.035 billion from the N2.136 trillion quoted in the preceding session.

The OTC securities exchange suffered the decline yesterday despite the share prices of three companies closing green.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was up by N1.80 to close at N39.80 per share compared with Thursday’s price of N38.00 per share, Air Liquide Plc appreciated by N1.09 to N11.99 per unit from N10.90 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by 78 Kobo to N56.57 per share from N55.79 per share.

During the session, the volume of transactions rose by 6,885.3 per cent to 18.2 million units from 4.3 million units, the value of transactions ballooned by 10,301.7 per cent to N389.7 million from N347.2 million, but the number of deals declined by 29.7 per cent to 26 deals from 37 deals.

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units valued at N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units worth N4.2 billion.

InfraCredit Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.9 million.

Economy

Naira Depreciates to N1,450/$1 at Official Forex Market

Published

2 hours ago

06/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated further against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, December 5, as FX demand pressure mounts.

The Nigerian currency lost N2.60 or 0.18 per cent against the greenback to close at N1,450.43/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.83/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency declined against the Pound Sterling in the official forex market during the session by N4.48 to trade at N1,935.45/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,930.97/£1 and shrank against the Euro by 43 Kobo to end at N1,689.17/€1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N1,688.74/€1.

Similarly, the local currency performed badly against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to close at N1,455/$1 versus Thursday’s N1,453/$1 but traded flat at the parallel market at N14.65/$1.

As the country gets into the festive period, pressure mounted on the local currency reflecting higher foreign payments and lower FX inflows.

However, there are expectations that the Nigerian currency will be stable, supported by interventions by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the face of steady dollar Demand and inflows from Detty December festivities that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month.

Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450/$1 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.

As for the crypto market, it was down yesterday due to profit-taking associated with year-end trading. However, the December 1-Year Consumer Inflation Expectation by the University of Michigan fell to 4.1 per cent from 4.5 per cent previously and 4.5 per cent expected. The 5-Year Consumer Inflation Expectation fell to 3.2 per cent from 3.4 per cent previously and 3.4 per cent expected.

With the dearth of official economic data of late, these private surveys have taken on a new level of significance and the market banks of them to make decisions.

Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.7 per cent to $0.4142, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 5.1 per cent to $0.1394, Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 3.9 per cent to $3,039.75, Solana (SOL) declined by 3.8 per cent to $133.24, and Litecoin (LTC) fell by 3.7 per cent to $80.59.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 2.6 per cent to sell at $89,683.72, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 2.2 per cent to $883.59, and Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.1 per cent to $2.04, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.