Economy
Disappointing Earnings News May Weigh on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower open on Friday, with stocks likely to move back to the downside following the rebound seen over the course of the previous session.
Semiconductor stocks may lead the markets lower amid a negative reaction to earnings news from graphics chip maker Nvidia (NVDA) and semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT).
Lingering concerns about the global economic outlook as well as concerns along with renewed anxiety Brexit may also weigh on the markets.
After extending a recent downward trend early in the session, stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading session on Thursday. The major averages bounced well off their lows of the session and firmly into positive territory.
The major averages pulled back off their best levels but held on to strong gains into the close. The Dow advanced 208.77 points or 0.8 percent to 25,289.27, the Nasdaq soared 122.64 points or 1.7 percent to 7,259.03 and the S&P 500 jumped 28.62 points or 1.1 percent to 2,730.20.
The rebound on Wall Street came amid optimism about trade after a report from the Financial Times said the U.S. and China have intensified efforts to reach a trade agreement at the G20 summit later this month.
The FT said negotiators stepped up efforts following a telephone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month.
In a post on Twitter following the call, Trump said he had a “very good” conversation with Xi with a “heavy emphasis on trade.”
The FT said China subsequently responded to U.S. requests to address a range of sticking points, with senior U.S. and Chinese officials discussing the possibility of concessions.
One person familiar with the situation told the FT that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had told some industry executives the next round of tariffs on Chinese imports was already on hold.
The early weakness in the markets came amid lingering concerns about the global economic outlook as well as news of the resignation of U.K. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab.
Traders were also digesting a slew of U.S. economic data, including reports on retail sales and weekly jobless claims.
Retail sales in the U.S. increased by more than anticipated in the month of October, the Commerce Department revealed in a report.
The Commerce Department said retail sales advanced by 0.8 percent in October following a revised 0.1 percent dip in September.
Economists had expected retail sales to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding a jump in auto sales, retail sales still rose by 0.7 percent in October after edging down by 0.1 percent in September. Ex-auto sales had been expected to increase by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, closely watched core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, rose by 0.3 percent in October, matching the downwardly revise increase in September.
“The plunge in oil prices in recent weeks will boost households’ real disposable incomes by close to $40 billion, with surging natural gas prices likely to offset only a small fraction of that improvement in purchasing power,” said Michael Pearce, Senior U.S. Economist at Capital Economics.
“With consumer confidence still high, much of this extra cash is likely to filter through to spending on other goods and services,” he added. “But we doubt that will be enough to replace the boost from the earlier fiscal stimulus or offset all of the headwind from tighter monetary policy.”
A separate report from the Labor Department showed a slight increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 10th.
The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 216,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 214,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 212,000.
The Labor Department also released a report showing import and export prices both rose by more than expected in the month of October.
The Labor Department said import prices climbed by 0.5 percent in October after rising by a downwardly revised 0.2 in September.
Economists had expected import prices to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.5 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said export prices rose by 0.4 percent in October after coming in unchanged in September. Export prices had also been expected to tick up by 0.1 percent.
Reports released by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Philadelphia showed mixed readings on the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in the month of November.
Semiconductor stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 3.3 percent.
Significant strength also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The index rebounded after ending the previous session at a seven-month closing low.
Gold stocks extended yesterday’s rally amid a continued increase by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging up by 2.1 percent.
Software, steel, networking and banking stocks also moved notably higher on the day, while considerable weakness remained visible among interest rate-sensitive utilities and housing stocks.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.24 per cent on Friday, April 25 after the duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Afriland Properties Plc landed on the losers’ table.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N2.58 to sell at N35.37 per unit compared with the previous day’s N37.95 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 2 Kobo to close at N17.78 per share versus Thursday’s closing value of N17.80 per share.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 10 Kobo during the trading day to sell for N1.80 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.70 per unit. The rise in the price of the stock could not prevent the fall of the bourse yesterday.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went down by N4.64 billion to N1.914 trillion from N1.918 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 7.92 points to 3,269.06 points from 3,276.98 points.
The final trading session of the week ended with a surge of 1,695.8 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 3.7 billion units from the 206.2 milion units transacted in the previous trading day.
Equally, the value of transactions jumped by 2,592.6 per cent to N9.5 billion from N354.1 million on Thursday, and the number of deals decreased by 47.4 per cent to 20 deals from the 38 deals recorded a day earlier.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 259.3 million units worth N456.1 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 15.6 million units worth N598.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.30 per cent fall was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday as a result of profit-taking in the industrial goods sector.
This was mainly caused by sell-offs in Dangote Cement Plc, which released its financial statements for the first quarter of 2025 yesterday.
The cement maker lost 10.00 per cent during the session to trade at N432.00, Regency Alliance lost 8.06 per cent to close at 57 Kobo, VFD Group depreciated by 7.57 per cent to N17.10, Chams declined by 7.27 per cent to N2.04, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crashed by 6.12 per cent to 92 Kobo.
Conversely, International Breweries, Legend Internet, and Ikeja Hotel gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N7.70, N6.82, and N12.10 apiece, Vitafoam Nigeria surged by 9.93 per cent to N44.85, and Eterna rose by 9.92 per cent to N39.90.
The industrial goods index was down by 4.73 per cent on Friday, as the others finished in green territory.
The consumer goods space rose by 2.21 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 1.50 per cent, the energy sector increased by 0.07 per cent, and the commodity industry went up by 0.04 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 321.21 points to 105,753.05 points from 106,074.26 points and the market capitalisation shrank by N202 billion to N66.465 trillion from N66.667 trillion.
The level of activity increased yesterday as the trading volume, value, and number of deals grew by 30.40 per cent, 94.23 per cent, and 17.64 per cent, respectively.
This was because investors transacted 428.1 million shares worth N20.2 billion in 14,284 deals compared with the 328.3 million shares valued at N10.4 billion in traded in 12,142 deals a day earlier.
GTCO led the activity chart with 60.7 million equities sold for N3.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 41.4 million stocks worth N829.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 40.6 million shares valued at N968.3 million, MTN Nigeria sold 33.0 million equities for N8.2 billion, and Zenith Bank transacted 22.9 million stocks worth N1.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its gains against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, April 25 by 0.22 per cent or N3.59 to sell for N1,599.42/$1 compared with the N1,603.01/$1 it was traded in the previous session.
The Nigerian currency also improved its value against the Euro in the official market by N1.36 to close at N1,818.53/€1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,819.89/€1.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N1.90 to wrap the session at N2,130.44/£1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N2,128.50/£1.
At the black market segment, the Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N2 to quote at N1,605/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,607/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, a possible regulatory progress about digital assets in the US spurred buying interest among investors during the trading session.
The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Paul Atkins, was at a crypto roundtable on Friday and he devoted his inaugural speech to assuring the industry that he will continue to remake securities policy to favor digital assets innovation.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 3.0 per cent to $87.24, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 2.7 per cent to $0.1862, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.3 per cent to $94,687.84, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $1,797.51, Cardano (ADA) improved by 0.9 per cent to $0.7235, and Ripple (XRP) gained 0.6 per cent to close at $2.20.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $151.64, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.8 per cent to sell for $602.89, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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