Economy

Wall Street Opens Lower on Profit Taking

Published

7 years ago

19/02/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to give back ground on the heels of recent strength.

Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street following the strong upward move shown by stocks last week.

The advance seen last Friday lifted the Dow and the Nasdaq to their best closing levels in three months and the S&P 500 reached a two-month closing high.

Uncertainty about the potential for a trade deal between the U.S. and China may also weigh on the markets as the next round of trade talks get underway in Washington, D.C. this week.

News that China accused the U.S. of attempting to curtail its technology development by putting pressure on allies to shun networks supplied by Huawei Technologies has raised concerns about tensions between the world?s two largest economies.

Selling pressure may be somewhat subdued, however, with a significant advance by Walmart (WMT) likely to help limit the downside for the markets.

Shares of Walmart are moving notably higher in pre-market trading after the retail giant reported fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Following the mixed performance seen on Thursday, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday.

The major averages all closed firmly positive, although the Dow outperformed its counterparts. The Dow soared 443.86 points or 1.7 percent to 25,883.25, the Nasdaq climbed 45.46 points or 0.6 percent to 7,472.41 and the S&P 500 jumped 29.87 points or 1.1 percent to 2,775.60.

With the advance on the day, the major averages all moved higher for the week. The Dow spiked by 3.1 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 shot up by 2.4 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

The strength on Wall Street came amid continued optimism about trade talks between the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies.

A statement from the White House said high level U.S.-China trade talks this week led to “progress between the two parties” but noted “much work remains.”

The White House said the U.S. hopes to see additional progress as discussions at the ministerial and vice-ministerial levels continue in Washington next week.

Traders also reacted positively to news that lawmakers and President Donald Trump managed to avoid another government shutdown.

Trump still decided to declare a national emergency to obtain additional funds for his controversial border wall, although the move is not likely to have an immediate impact as it will face significant legal challenges.

Optimism about the economic outlook was also generated by preliminary data from the University of Michigan showing a bigger than expected rebound in consumer sentiment in the month of February.

The report said the consumer sentiment index climbed to 95.5 in February after tumbling to 91.2 in January. Economists had expected the index to rise to 93.0.

Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin said the rebound in consumer sentiment reflected the end of the partial government shutdown as well as a more fundamental shift in consumer expectations due to the Federal Reserve’s pause in raising interest rates.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Federal Reserve showing an unexpected decrease in industrial production in January.

The Fed said industrial production fell by 0.6 percent in January after inching up by a downwardly revised 0.1 percent in December.

Economists had expected production to tick up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpected drop in industrial production came as manufacturing output slumped by 0.9 percent in January after climbing by 0.8 percent in December.

Telecom stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index up by 2.6 percent. With the jump, the index ended the session at its best closing level in over two months.

Significant strength among emerged among energy stocks, which moved to the upside along with the price of crude oil.

Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiked by 2.6 percent, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index shot up by 2.4 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index advanced by 1.6 percent.

Banking stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, with the KBW Bank Index skyrocketing by 2.4 percent to a two-month closing high.

Networking, brokerage, biotechnology, and healthcare stocks also moved notably higher amid broad based buying interest on Wall Street.

Economy

NASD Exchange Extends Bearish Run After 0.56% Drop

Published

15 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

15 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

15 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.