Economy
Looming Earnings Deluge May Keep Traders on Sidelines
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat opening on Wednesday following the modest pullback seen in the previous session.
Traders may stick to the sidelines as they wait for the earnings season to pick up steam being making more significant bets.
Shares of Bank of America (BAC) are moving modestly lower in pre-market trading even though the financial giant reported second quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, shares of United Airlines (UAL) may move to the upside after the airline reported better than expected second quarter results.
Traders may be looking to the release of results from companies like IBM Corp. (IBM), eBay (EBAY), and Netflix (NFLX) after the close of trading.
Honeywell (HON), Morgan Stanley (MS), UnitedHealth (UNH), Microsoft (MSFT), Capital One (COF), and American Express (AXP) are also among the companies due to report their quarterly results in the coming days.
After inching up to new record closing highs on Monday, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Tuesday before closing modestly lower.
The Dow hit a new record intraday high in morning trading but eventually ended the day down 23.53 points or 0.1 percent at 27,335.63.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq also slid 35.39 points or 0.4 percent to 8,222.80, while the S&P 500 fell 10.26 points or 0.3 percent to 3,004.04.
Selling pressure emerged in afternoon trading after President Donald Trump told reporters U.S.-China trade talks still have a “long way to go” and once again threatened to impose tariffs on another $325 billion worth of Chinese goods.
The lower close on Wall Street also came as a mixed batch of U.S. economic data led to uncertainty about the near-term outlook for interest rates.
Raising concerns the Federal Reserve could refrain from cutting rates later this month, the Commerce Department released a report showing much stronger than expected U.S. retail sales growth.
The Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.4 percent in June, matching the downwardly revised increase in May. Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent.
Closely watched core retail sales, which exclude autos, gasoline, building materials and food services, jumped by 0.7 percent in June after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.6 percent in May.
ING Chief International Economist James Knightley said the report suggests consumer spending rose robustly in the second quarter, which he expects to help keep GDP growth above 2 percent.
“Despite this, financial markets continue to price in four 25 basis point interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve over the next 18 months,” Knightley said.
He added, “Yet, in an environment where growth is solid, core inflation is close to target, unemployment is near 50-year lows and stock markets are at all-time highs, there seems little justification for anything more than precautionary rate cuts.”
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Fed showed U.S. industrial production was unexpectedly flat June, as a steep drop in utilities output offset increases in manufacturing and mining output.
The Fed said industrial production was unchanged in June after climbing by 0.4 percent in May. Economists had expected production to edge up by 0.2 percent.
Traders were also digesting earnings news from big-name companies such as Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), JPMorgan (JPM), and Wells Fargo (WFC).
Energy stocks came under pressure over the course of the trading session, as the price of crude oil fell sharply after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran is prepared to negotiate about its missile program.
Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index plunged by 2.1 percent, while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index slumped by 1.4 percent.
Significant weakness was also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.
Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, while strength in the transportation sector drove the Dow Jones Transportation Average up by 1.8 percent to a two-month closing high.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) led the transportation sector higher after the trucking company reported better than expected adjusted second quarter earnings on revenues that exceeded estimates.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed plans to list the entire Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The President made this known on Thursday while receiving a delegation of the NGX Group Plc at the State House, Abuja.
The team was led by the NGX Group chairman, Mr Umaru Kwairanga, and its chief executive, Mr Temi Popoola. The President was briefed on the capital market’s growth from about N30 trillion in 2023 to N160 trillion.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu said the planned listing of NNPC would form a key part of his administration’s ongoing economic reforms.
He described the move as part of broader reforms aimed at expanding investment opportunities for Nigerians and deepening the country’s capital market.
“One day, not just the arms and legs, the totality of it will be listed on the Nigerian Exchange,” he said.
The President also reaffirmed that his administration’s target of building a $1 trillion economy remained achievable, citing Nigeria’s population and human capital as major advantages.
“I can see the excitement in the room. All I can do is to celebrate you all today. When we took over, it was very challenging. I had to talk to myself and define my background to accept the assets and liabilities of my predecessor. I asked for the job, and I have to do it,” President Tinubu said.
Reflecting on the administration’s monetary reforms, the President praised the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso’s role in restoring confidence in the financial system.
“My capable partner in one of the thinking and reasoning days was Yemi Cardoso, whom I put at CBN. We were in the negative with monetary policy and the reserve. We had N30 trillion printed, and there were liabilities. I thank you very much, Yemi Cardoso,” he said.
President Tinubu said the performance of the stock market reflected broader improvements in the Nigerian economy.
“If the stock market is doing well, then we are doing well. We can teach this in classrooms to our undergraduates. If they can be in the classroom without the harrowing feeling of how to pay and what to pay, then we can build a nation of success and prosperity. My assurance to you is that I won’t stop reading, thinking and supporting you,” he said.
The President also reiterated his belief in private sector-led investments, recalling his longstanding support for the Dangote Refinery project.
“If we can push the private sector to invest in the economy wisely, then we will grow. It is one reason why I backed Aliko Dangote even before I became President. God bless the soul of Muhammadu Buhari. We discussed how we can support the private sector to go into the refinery business,” he added.
On his part, NGX Group CEO Temi Popoola told the President that the total value of listed equities had increased from nearly N30 trillion when the administration assumed office in 2023 to about N160 trillion, with projections to reach N230 trillion before the end of the year.
“The picture today is that when you took office in 2023, the total value of stocks listed in Nigeria was just shy of N30 trillion. Today, Mr President, that figure is N160 trillion. By the end of this year, with the listings we are seeing in our market, we expect that figure to rise to N230 trillion,” Popoola said.
He added that the Nigerian All-Share Index had risen from 52,000 points to 244,000 points, while the reforms had created an estimated 500,000 to 900,000 new millionaires, attributing the market’s performance to the administration’s reforms and expressing confidence that Nigeria could attain a $1 trillion economy before 2030.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange surged by 2.05 per cent on Thursday, August 6, amid fresh buying interest after a lukewarm preceding session.
The market capitalisation gained N56.21 billion to close at N2,795 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) rose by 93.63 points to end at 4,657.59 points against Wednesday’s 4,563.96 points.
During the trading day, there were five price gainers and two price losers, led by Okitipupa Plc, which depreciated by N28.00 to settle at N252.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N280.00 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc, which fell by 5 Kobo to close at N1.25 per unit versus midweek’s N1.30 per unit.
On the flip side, 11 Plc gained N22.5o to sell at N247.50 per share versus N225.00 per share, MRS Oil Plc grew by N12.00 to N132.00 per unit from N120.00 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N9.94 to end at N129.74 per share versus N119.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by N4.09 to N148.09 per unit from N144.00 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc expanded by 5 Kobo to 55 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
The volume of securities skyrocketed by 360,690.4 per cent to 2.9 million units from 802 units on Wednesday, the value of securities surged by 47,518.0 per cent to N99.2 million from N208,240, and the number of deals increased by 300 per cent to 62 deals from two deals a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 77.0 million units sold for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended as the most traded stock by on a volume year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further slipped against the United States Dollar by N2.33 or 0.17 per cent to N1,364.88/$1 from N1,362.55/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, August 6.
In the same vein, the domestic currency weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market by 71 Kobo yesterday to trade at N1,838.09/£1, in contrast to Wednesday’s value of N1,837.38/£1, but against the Euro, it gained 45 Kobo to close at N1,574.80/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,575.25/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira improved its value against the US Dollar by N4 on Thursday to quote at N1,369/$1 versus midweek”s rate of N1,373/$1, but at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,400/$1.
The NAFEM interbank FX turnover jumped to $98.804 million on Thursday, up by more than 31 per cent from $75.357 million the previous day.
Similarly, the number of deals at the NFEM interbank increased to 106 from 82, confirming higher US Dollar flows at the official FX market.
Traders expect the Naira to hold steady, buoyed by dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), whose presence in the market will help ease demand pressure.
In the cryptocurrency market, major cryptocurrencies were mostly down as the Senate delayed a vote on the Crypto Clarity Act until at least September.
The bill, which would set out which U.S. regulator oversees which digital assets, needs 60 votes to pass, and it is unclear whether it currently has 50. Several Republican senators have said publicly they oppose it, and Democrats want stricter rules preventing President Donald Trump from profiting from crypto while in office.
Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.5 per cent to $1.02, Solana (SOL) depleted by 1.5 per cent to $72.86, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 1.4 per cent to $587.41, Dogecoin (DOGE) tumbled by 0.9 per cent to $0.0692, Bitcoin (BTC) decreased by 0.6 per cent to $64,344.69, and Ethereum (ETH) tumbled by 0.3 per cent to $1,902.03.
However, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 7.7 per cent to $0.2025, and TRON (TRX) rose by 0.3 per cent to $0.3267, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
