Economy
Trade Worries May Overshadow Upbeat Jobs Data
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the move to the downside seen over the past few sessions.
The downward momentum on Wall Street comes even though the Labor Department released a report showing stronger than expected job growth in the month of August.
The data may have raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates, as the report also showed an unexpected acceleration in the rate of wage growth.
Lingering trade concerns may also weigh on the markets following the expiration of a public comment period on new U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Traders are likely to keep a close on the President Donald Trump and his administration for news regarding the implementation of the proposed tariffs.
China’s Commerce Ministry has warned it will be forced to roll out necessary retaliatory measures if the U.S. adopts any new tariffs.
Adding to the worries about, Trump reportedly told a columnist for the Wall Street Journal he is ?still bothered by the terms of U.S. trade with Japan.?
Stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday, extending the decline seen over the two previous sessions. The Nasdaq posted another significant loss, although the Dow once again managed to close in positive territory.
While the Dow inched up 20.88 points or 0.1 percent to 25,995.87, the Nasdaq slumped 72.45 points or 0.9 percent to 7,922.73 and the S&P 500 fell 10.55 points or 0.4 percent at 2,878.05.
Technology stocks extended the sharp drop seen on Wednesday, contributing to the notable decline by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Traders appear to be expressing concerns that recent strength in the tech sector, which helped lift the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to record highs, may have been overdone.
The weakness on Wall Street also came following the release of a slew of U.S. economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment rose by less than expected in the month of August.
ADP said private sector employment climbed by 163,000 jobs in August after jumping by a revised 217,000 jobs in July. Economists had expected an increase of about 190,000 jobs.
“Although we saw a small slowdown in job growth the market remains incredibly dynamic,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute.
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.
The report is expected to show employment increased by about 191,000 jobs in August after rising by 157,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 3.8 percent from 3.9 percent.
In other economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing a much bigger than expected acceleration in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in August.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index jumped to 58.5 in August from 55.7 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 56.8.
“There was a strong rebound for the non-manufacturing sector in August after growth ‘cooled off’ in July,” said Anthony Nieves, Chair of the ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
“Logistics, tariffs and employment resources continue to have an impact on many of the respective industries,” he added. “Overall, the respondents remain positive about business conditions and the economy.”
Traders also kept an eye out for developments regarding trade, as U.S. and Canadian officials continue to hold talks on reforming NAFTA.
Energy stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session amid another steep drop by the price of crude oil. Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index plunged by 2.9 percent, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plummeted by 2.5 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index slid by 1.6 percent.
Significant weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent drop by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index pulled back further off the more than two-month closing high set on Tuesday.
Biotechnology stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 2.1 percent. With the drop, the index continued to give back ground after reaching a record closing high a week ago.
Brokerage, networking, and computer hardware stocks also moved notably lower, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, President Bola Tinubu will present the 2025 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.
The size of the 2025 Appropriation Bill is about N47.9 trillion and would be presented to the parliament for approval.
Speaking at the plenary on Thursday, December 12, 2024, the President of the Senate, Mr Godswill Akpabio, said the presentation by Mr Tinubu would be at the chamber of the House of Representatives.
However, it is not certain if the lawmakers will pass the budget before December 31 to allow for a recent budget cycle of January to December.
Recall that on December 3, the senate approved the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) for 2025 to 2027.
This was after the President presented this the National Assembly on November 19 ahead of the consideration of the 2025 budget proposal.
In the MTEF/FSP, the government said it planned to borrow about N9.22 trillion from local and foreign sources to finance the budget deficit.
It pegged the crude oil benchmark at $75 per barrel and a daily oil production of 2.06 million barrels at an exchange rate of N1,400 to $1, and a targeted gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.4 percent.
At the plenary today, Mr Akpabio informed his colleagues that, “The President has made his intention known to the National Assembly to present the 2025 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on December 17, 2024.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria added 150,000 barrels per day to its crude production in November 2024 as it continues to pursue an ambitious 2 million barrels per day target.
According to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s oil production rose to 1.48 million barrels per day in November, up from 1.33 million barrels per day the previous month.
In its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), OPEC revealed that at 1.48 million barrels per day, it is the continent’s leading oil producer, surpassing Algeria’s 908,000 barrels per day and Congo’s 268,000 barrels per day.
Business Post reports that OPEC doesn’t account for condensates, which Nigeria’s accounts for in its broader 2 million barrels per day target.
Despite the surge in production levels, Nigeria is still under producing its 1.5 million barrels per day output quota under a deal involving OPEC and 10 other producers known as OPEC+.
OPEC said it relied on primary data gotten through direct communication, noting that secondary sources reported 1.417 million barrels per day as Nigeria’s crude production in November — up from 1.4 million barrels per day in October.
The data also shows that OPEC’s total oil production among its 12 members rose by 104,000 barrels per day in the month under review.
According to secondary sources, the total of the 12 OPEC countries’ crude oil production averaged 26.66 million barrels per day in November 2024.
“Crude oil output increased mainly in Libya, Iran, and Nigeria, while production in Iraq, Venezuela, and Kuwait decreased”, OPEC said.
“At the same time, total non-OPEC DoC crude oil production averaged 14.01 mb/d in November 2024, which is 219 tb/d higher, m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in Kazakhstan and Malaysia,” the organisation added.
In a related development, OPEC trimmed its 2024 and 2025 oil demand growth forecasts for the fifth time this year.
Now, the cartel expects the world’s oil demand growth at 1.61 million barrels per day from the previously 1.82 million barrels per day.
For 2025, OPEC says the world oil demand growth forecast is now at 1.45 million barrels per day, a 900,000 barrels per day cut from the previously expected 1.54 million barrels per day.
On the changes, OPEC says that the downgrade for this year owes to more bearish data received in the third quarter of 2024 while the projections for next year relate to the potential impact that will arise from US tariffs.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Afriland Properties Plc and Geo-Fluids Plc crashed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by a marginal 0.06 per cent on Wednesday, December 11 due to profit-taking activities.
The OTC securities exchange experienced a downfall at midweek despite UBN Property Plc posting a price appreciation of 17 Kobo to close at N1.96 per share, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1.79.
Business Post reports that Afriland Properties Plc slid by N1.14 to finish at N15.80 per unit versus the preceding day’s N16.94 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 1 Kobo to trade at N3.92 per share compared with the N3.93 it ended a day earlier.
At the close of transactions, the market capitalisation of the bourse, which measures the total value of securities on the platform, shrank by N650 million to finish at N1.055 trillion compared with the previous day’s N1.056 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went down by 1.86 points to wrap the session at 3,012.50 points compared with 3,014.36 points recorded in the previous session.
The alternative stock market was busy yesterday as the volume of securities traded by investors soared by 146.9 per cent to 5.9 million units from 2.4 million units, as the value of shares transacted by the market participants jumped by 360.9 per cent to N22.5 million from N4.9 million, and the number of deals increased by 50 per cent to 21 deals from 14 deals.
When the bourse closed for the day, Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units valued at N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units worth N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc, which is now listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after its exit from NASD, remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units sold for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 billion.
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