Economy

Asian Markets End Mixed as Trump Begins Asian Tour

Published

7 years ago

06/11/2017

By Investors Hub

Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off his tour of Asia in Japan over the weekend with tough rhetoric and an anti-corruption crackdown in Saudi Arabia resulted in the arrest of several Saudi princes and ministers, including prominent investor Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 17.37 points or 0.5 percent to 3,389.12 even as banking stocks fell after People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan spelled out his strategy to ward off systematic financial risks.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged down 6.81 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 28,596.80 ahead of Chinese current account, foreign-exchange reserves and consumer inflation data later this week.

Japanese shares ended roughly flat as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend. The Nikkei 225 Index pared early gains to close marginally higher at 22,548.35, while the broader Topix index ended down 0.1 percent at 1,792.66.

Banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group fell over 1 percent after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank would closely monitor the effects of the continued low interest rate environment on the functioning of financial institutions.

SoftBank Group retreated 2.6 percent after the company and T-Mobile US called off their merger talks. Fast Retailing advanced 2.2 percent on reporting an 8.9 percent rise in same-store sales for October. Automaker Mazda Motor slumped 4.3 percent after posting disappointing quarterly results.

In economic news, the latest survey from Nikkei showed that the services sector in Japan expanded at an accelerated pace in October to hit a 26-month high.

Australian shares ended marginally lower as gains in energy stocks were offset by losses in the financial sector after Westpac Banking Corp posted a weaker-than-expected net profit and warned the outlook is becoming more challenging.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index slid 6.10 points or 0.10 percent to 5,953.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended largely unchanged at 6,027.20.

Lender Westpac shed 2.2 percent after announcing its annual results while ANZ shed half a percent after unveiling plans to close its retail banking business in Philippines. Commonwealth dropped half a percent and NAB declined 0.7 percent.

Energy stocks like Oil Search, Origin Energy, Santos and Woodside Petroleum rose between 0.8 percent and 1.3 percent after oil prices hit their highest levels since 2015 amid signs of tightening market conditions.

AGL Energy gained over 1 percent after it agreed to sell its digital metering subsidiary Active Stream to Ausgrid. Orica shares fell nearly 10 percent after the mining explosives maker maintained a cautious outlook for fiscal 2018.

Economy

Okitipupa Plc, Two Others Lift Unlisted Securities Market by 0.65%

Published

3 hours ago

14/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.

On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.

Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.

At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.

In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Trades N1,533/$1 at Official Market, N1,650/$1 at Parallel Market

Published

4 hours ago

14/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.

The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.

The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.

The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.

Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.

In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

Index Gains 0.63% as Value of Nigerian Exchange Crosses N60trn

Published

4 hours ago

14/12/2024

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

For the fourth consecutive trading session, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed higher on Friday by 0.63 per cent on sustained renewed buying pressure.

Apart from the energy and industrial goods sectors which closed flat, every other sector ended in the green territory, according to data obtained from the bourse.

Business Post reports that the insurance index appreciated by 1.52 per cent, the banking space improved by 0.63 per cent, and the consumer goods counter expanded by 0.46 per cent.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 617.47 points to settle at 99,378.06 points compared with the preceding day’s 98,760.59 points and the market capitalisation went up by 375 billion to close at N60.242 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s closing value of N59.867 trillion.

The volume of transactions on Customs Street yesterday grew by 11.13 per cent to 544.2 million shares from the 489.7 million shares transacted a day earlier.

The value of transactions increased during the session by 49.30 per cent to N10.6 billion from N7.1 billion and the number of deals went up by 1.93 per cent to 8,464 deals from the 8,304 deals posted in the previous trading session.

The busiest equity for the trading day was Japaul with the sale of 71.7 million units valued at N158.0 million, eTranzact exchanged 70.7 million units worth N477.5 million, Tantalizers sold 57.3 million units for N101.2 million, FCMB traded 33.0 million units worth N297.3 million, and Universal Insurance transacted 27.1 million units valued at N9.6 million.

A total of 36 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart, while 15 stocks finished on the losers’ table, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

The trio of Aradel Holdings, Ikeja Hotel and Caverton gained 10.00 per cent each to trade at N550.00, N8.80, and N1.98, respectively, as Africa Prudential rose by 9.87 per cent to N17.25 and Golden Guinea Breweries soared by 9.64 per cent to N8.64.

On the flip side, Austin Laz lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1.62, ABC Transport crashed by 8.00 per cent to N1.15, Royal Exchange slumped by 7.69 per cent to 60 Kobo, Secure Electronic Technology plunged by 5.26 per cent to 54 Kobo, and The Initiates crumbled by 4.26 per cent to N2.25.