Economy

Disappointing Caterpillar Earnings Weigh on Wall Street

Published

7 years ago

28/01/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a notably lower opening on Monday, with stocks likely to come under pressure after ending last week?s trading roughly flat.

A negative reaction to earnings news from Caterpillar (CAT) is likely to weigh on the markets, with the heavy equipment maker slumping by 5.8 percent in pre-market trading.

The drop by Caterpillar comes after the company reported weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings and forecast full-year 2019 earnings below analyst estimates.

Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby said the outlook ?assumes a modest sales increase based on the fundamentals of our diverse end markets as well as the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.?

Early trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to key events later this week, including the release of the Labor Department?s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

The Federal Reserve?s monetary policy decision on Wednesday is also likely to attract attention, although the central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged after last month?s rate hike.

Traders are also likely to watch closely for any news regarding a new round of trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials in Washington this week.

Following the volatility seen over the two previous sessions, stocks moved significantly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages all climbed firmly into positive territory after ending Thursday’s trading mixed.

While the major averages pulled back off their highs of the session, the Dow and the Nasdaq still ended the day at their best closing levels in well over a month.

The Dow climbed 183.96 points or 0.8 percent to 24,737.20, the Nasdaq jumped 91.40 points or 1.3 percent to 7,164.86 and the S&P 500 advanced 22.43 points or 0.9 percent to 2,664.76.

For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow and the Nasdaq both inched up by 0.1 percent, while the S&P 500 edged down by 0.2 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly said the U.S. and China are making “a lot of progress” in trade talks.

A report from Reuters said Mnuchin is looking forward to a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He next week, which will also include discussions on currency issues.

The comments from Mnuchin conflict with remarks by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who told CNBC on Thursday the U.S. is “miles and miles” from a trade deal with China.

“Frankly, that shouldn’t be too surprising,” Ross said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” noting the U.S. and China have “lots and lots of issues.”

Stocks remained firmly positive as President Donald Trump announced an agreement to end the record-setting government shutdown.

Trump revealed in a speech from the White House rose garden that lawmakers will vote later today on legislation to fund the shuttered parts of the government until February 15th.

The bill will not include money for Trump’s controversial border wall, which was the issue that led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Trump indicated that the three weeks of funding provided by the legislation would give lawmakers time to negotiate on the contentious issue of border security.

“Many disagree, but I really feel that, working with Democrats and Republicans, we can make a truly great and secure deal happen for everyone,” Trump said.

With the announcement, Trump seemed to give in to Democratic demands to re-open the government before negotiating on border security.

However, if an agreement on border security is not reached by February 15th, Trump suggested the government could shut down again or he could declare the situation on the border a national emergency.

Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.8 percent. The rally by gold stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal.

Considerable strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 3.5 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Hard drive maker Western Digital (WDC) posted a standout gain after reporting fiscal second quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates but forecasting stronger second half sales.

Oil service stocks also moved notably higher amid an increase by the price of crude oil, resulting in a 3.1 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

Semiconductor, steel, and chemical stocks also saw significant strength on the day, while utilities stocks were among the few groups to buck the uptrend.

Economy

NASD Exchange Extends Bearish Run After 0.56% Drop

Published

16 hours ago

03/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.

This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.

It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.

MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.

On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.

Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.

GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.

The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Slips to N1,380/$1 at Official Market, Remains N1,405/$1 at Black Market

Published

16 hours ago

03/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.

However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.

Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.

Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.

This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.

The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.

Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.

Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Bulls, Bears Share Customs Street’s Spoils Amid Bullish Investor Sentiment

Published

16 hours ago

03/04/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.

Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.

Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.

Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.

On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.

The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.

Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.

Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.