Economy
Trump Postponing Tariff Hike Buoys Buying Interest
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Monday, with positive developments on the trade front generating buying interest.
The upward momentum on Wall Street comes after President Donald Trump announced he intends to postpone a planned increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump said the decision to delay the tariff increase reflected ?substantial progress? in the ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China.
The president said the U.S. and China have made progress on ?important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues.?
Assuming additional progress is made, Trump said he will be planning to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to conclude an agreement.
Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
?With complete Denuclearization, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse,? Trump said on Twitter ahead of the summit. ?Without it, just more of the same. Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell?s testimony before Congress in the coming days may also keep some traders on the sidelines.
Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday, more than offsetting the moderate weakness seen on Thursday. With the upward move, the major averages reached their best closing levels in over three months.
The major averages fluctuated late in the session but ended the day firmly positive. The Dow climbed 181.18 points or 0.7 percent to 26,031.81, the Nasdaq jumped 67.84 points or 0.9 percent to 7,527.54 and the S&P 500 rose 17.79 points or 0.6 percent to 2,792.67.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Nasdaq advanced by 0.7 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both climbed by 0.6 percent.
The strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to express optimism about ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin revealed later in the day that Chinese negotiators will extend their visit to Washington in an effort to build on the progress made during this week’s talks.
Mnuchin told reporters a meeting between Trump and Xi reportedly under discussion for next month may depend on the outcome of the next few days of negotiations.
Meanwhile, Trump said during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu that U.S. and Chinese officials are making “a lot of progress” in the trade talks.
Trump said there was a “very good chance” the U.S. and China could reach a long-term trade deal but at the same time said “who knows” whether a final agreement will be struck.
A report from CNBC said China has committed to buying up to $1.2 trillion worth U.S. goods, although sources said the two sides remain far apart on issues concerning the forced transfer of intellectual property.
Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.
A batch of disappointing U.S. economic data weighed on the markets on Thursday, although trade talk optimism helped limit the downside.
Tobacco stocks saw considerable strength on the day, extending the strong upward move seen in recent sessions. The NYSE Arca Tobacco Index surged up by 2.6 percent to its best closing level in well over three months.
Significant strength was also visible among computer hardware and networking stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware and NYSE Arca Networking Index jumping by 2 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Reflecting optimism about increased Chinese demand, steel stocks also turned in a strong performance, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 1.4 percent.
Biotechnology, software, and housing stocks also moved notably higher, while telecom stocks bucked the uptrend by the broader markets.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange lost its gaining streak on Wednesday, July 22, after it fell by 0.24 per cent despite the presence of five price gainers.
Yesterday, the market capitalisation went down by N6.32 billion to N2.631 trillion from the previous session’s N2.637 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) depreciated by 10.49 points to 4,383.48 points from 4,393.97 points.
The poor outcome was caused by the losses recorded by two securities, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which lost N5.60 to settle at N147.55 per unit compared with Tuesday’s closing price of N153.15 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which tumbled by N1.01 to N98.32 per share from N99.33 per share.
On the flip side, Nipco Plc added N38.00 to sell at N422.00 per unit versus N384.00 per share, Afriland Properties Plc gained 75 Kobo to close at N15.76 per share versus N15.01 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.53 per unit from N2.30 per unit, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc appreciated by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 1 Kobo to N2.49 per unit from N2.48 per unit.
At midweek, the volume of securities surged by 3,438.9 per cent to 11.4 million units from 322,147 units, the value of securities rose by 122.2 per cent to N43.1 million from N19.4 million, and the number of deals jumped by 81.5 per cent to 49 deals from 27 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.4 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange slipped into the negative territory on Wednesday by 0.50 per cent after the consumer goods sector closed lower by 5.04 per cent despite the gains recorded by the other key sectors.
The insurance index shed 1.64 per cent, the banking space gained 1.51 per cent, and the industrial goods segment expanded by 0.81 per cent, while the energy counter closed flat.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation declined by N800 billion to N158.319 trillion from N159.119 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) shrank by 1,241.19 points to 245,418.37 points from 246,659.56 points.
The duo of BUA Foods and Nestle Nigeria crumbled by 10.00 per cent each to N845.10 and N2,812.50, respectively. Mecure lost 9.94 per cent to trade at N69.30, International Energy Insurance slumped by 9.84 per cent to N4.40, and UAC Nigeria dipped by 7.75 per cent to N184.45.
On the flip side, the trio of Unilever Nigeria, Trans-Nationwide Express, and Cadbury Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent each to quote at N137.50, N3.08, and N137.50, respectively. Thomas Wyatt moved up by 9.95 per cent to 4.09, and UPDC REIT jumped by 9.40 per cent to N12.80.
A total of 37 stocks ended on the advancers’ chart and 28 stocks finished on the laggards’ log, indicating a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
Market participants transacted 1.3 billion shares worth N158.3 billion in 47,458 deals at midweek, in contrast to the 932.5 million shares valued at N49.3 billion traded in 50,059 deals in the preceding day. This implied that the number of deals declined by 5.20 per cent, while the trading volume and value increased by 39.41 per cent and 221.10 per cent, respectively.
First Holdco led the activity chart, with a turnover of 736.0 million units valued at N80.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 79.6 million units for N2.1 billion, GTCO transacted 34.1 million units worth N4.4 billion, Mutual Benefits sold 24.4 million units valued at N85.3 million, and Zenith Bank traded 21.5 million units for N2.6 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further appreciated against the United States Dollar by N5.68 or 0.41 per cent to N1,369.63/$1 on Wednesday, July 22, from the preceding session’s N1,375.31/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX).
Similarly, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.01 to trade at N1,833.12/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,841.13/£1, and against the Euro, it gained N4.75 to sell at N1,563.03/€1, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1,567.78/€1.
In the same vein, the Naira strengthened its rate against the US Dollar in the black market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,400/$1 compared with the N1,405/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank FX desk, it chalked up N5 against the greenback to settle at N1,383/$1 versus N1,388/$1.
FX liquidity was boosted by inflows from foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporates. The significant liquidity and strong investor sentiment aided the naira recovery from the recent slump.
As a result, total turnover settled at $416.420 million on Wednesday, up by 29 per cent from $322.664 million recorded the previous day.
The number of deals counted at the NAFEM window also increased to 198 from 110 on Tuesday, signalling higher demand for foreign payments matched adequate FX inflows.
With more than $52 billion in gross external reserves, analysts said the FX market is expected to remain stable in the near term.
As for the digital currency market, Bitcoin (BTC) slipped by 0.4 per cent to $65,658.75 as rising oil prices and higher Treasury yields pressured risk assets and weighed on major cryptocurrencies, which later saw some recovery.
Market sentiment was further dampened by an apparent escalation in US military strikes linked to Iran, while traders also looked at regulatory uncertainty as key US Senate Democrats criticised the latest draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which is designed to define and separate regulatory oversight for cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and digital commodities.
Dogecoin (DOGE) crashed by 0.1 per cent to $0.0724, and TRON (TRX) dropped 0.01 per cent to trade at $0.3287, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
However, Cardano (ADA) rose by 1.6 per cent to $0.1741, Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.2 per cent to close at $1,921.85, Binance Coin (BNB) also grew by 0.2 per cent to $569.38, Ripple (XRP) increased by 0.1 per cent to $1.13, and Solana (SOL) soared by 0.02 per cent to $77.50.
