Economy

Asian Stock Markets Crash Amidst Heavy Selling Pressure

Published

6 years ago

02/08/2019

By Investors Hub

Asian stocks succumbed to heavy selling pressure on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with China, saying that progress on a trade deal was moving too slowly.

Chinese shares fell as Trump’s fresh salvo in the yearlong trade spat extended tariffs to nearly all Chinese imports into the United States.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 40.93 points or 1.4 percent to 2,867.84, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plummeted 647.12 points or 2.4 percent at 26,918.58. The Chinese yuan hit its lowest level since November 2018 before paring some losses.

Japanese shares hit a six-week low as U.S.-China trade tensions flared up once again, raising fresh concerns about the outlook for the global economy.

The Nikkei 225 Index ended down 453.83 points or 2.1 percent at 21,087.16 after falling as low as 20,960.09, its weakest level since June 18. The broader Topix ended 2.2 percent lower at 1,533.46 amid selling across the board.

Shares with exposure to China were among the worst hit. Komatsu, Fanuc and Hitachi Construction Machinery gave up 2-5 percent. Market heavyweight SoftBank declined 2.5 percent and Fast Retailing shed 0.9 percent.

Exporters Canon, Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Sony and Panasonic lost 2-4 percent as the yen hit a more than one-month high against the dollar and multi-year peaks against antipodean currencies.

Apple supplier Sharp Corp. tumbled 13.7 percent after reporting a lower than expected quarterly operating profit, while Casio Computer jumped 8 percent on solid quarterly results.

On the data front, Bank of Japan policymakers discussed further easing as most members shared the view that it was appropriate to continue with the powerful monetary easing, the minutes of the monetary policy meeting held on June 19 and 20 showed.

“The key to overcoming deflation was for the Bank to maintain its stance of taking some kind of policy response if any changes emerged in the baseline scenario of the outlook for prices,” the minutes said.

Australian markets fell modestly as miners were rattled by a fresh threat from Trump to extend trade tariffs to nearly all Chinese imports. Gold mining companies surged on safe-haven buying, helping limit overall losses in the broader market.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 20.30 points or 0.3 percent to 6,768.60, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 25.80 points or 0.4 percent at 6,846.10.

Rio Tinto tumbled 3.1 percent despite delivering a record dividend payout and announcing its highest margins in a decade. BHP lost 3.7 percent and Fortescue Metals Group slumped 6.1 percent amid heightened trade war fears.

Gold miners Evolution, Newcrest and Resolute Mining soared 7-11 percent. GrainCorp, Australia’s largest bulk grain handler, plunged 5.4 percent after the company warned that it was likely to post a loss this year.

Lender ANZ shed 0.8 percent and NAB eased half a percent. Oil Search, Origin Energy, Santos and Woodside Petroleum declined 2-3 percent after crude oil prices plunged almost 8 percent overnight. Dairy processor Bega Cheese gave up 4.3 percent after cutting its full-year earnings outlook.

In economic news, Australian retail sales advanced 0.4 percent month-on-month in June, following a 0.1 percent rise in May, a government report showed. This was the fastest growth since February and better than the expected increase of 0.3 percent.

Seoul stocks fell sharply as Japan’s cabinet approved a plan to remove South Korea from a list of countries that enjoy minimum export controls. The benchmark Kospi ended down 19.21 points or 1 percent at 1,998.13.

SK Telecom rallied 3.3 percent. The telecommunications operator said its sales jumped 6.8 percent year-on-year to 4.4 trillion won in the April-June period, led by solid growth from its media business

Economy

PenCom Extends Deadline for Pension Recapitalisation to June 2027

Published

38 minutes ago

19/12/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The deadline for the recapitalisation of the Nigerian pension industry has been extended by six months to June 2027 from December 2026.

This extension was approved by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the agency, which regulates the sector in the country.

Addressing newsmen on Thursday in Lagos, the Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, explained that the shift in deadline was to give operators more time to boost the capital base, dismissing speculations that the exercise had been suspended.

“The recapitalisation has not been suspended. We have communicated the requirements to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and we expect every operator to be compliant by June 2027. Anyone who is not compliant by then will lose their licence,” Ms Oloworaran told journalists.

She added that, “From a regulatory standpoint, our major challenge is ensuring compliance. We are working with ICPC, labour and the TUC to ensure employers remit pension contributions for their employees.”

The DG noted that engagements with industry operators indicated broad acceptance of the policy, with many PFAs already taking steps to raise additional capital or explore mergers and acquisitions.

“You may see some mergers and acquisitions in the industry, but what is clear is that the recapitalisation exercise is on track and the industry agrees with us,” she stated.

PenCom wants the PFAs to increase their capital base and has created three categories, with the first consists operators with Assets Under Management of N500 billion and above. They are expected to have a minimum capital of N20 billion and one per cent of AUM above N500 billion.

The second category has PFAs with AUM below N500 billion, which must have at least N20 billion as capital base.

The last segment comprises special-purpose PFAs such as NPF Pensions Limited, whose minimum capital was pegged at N30 billion, and the Nigerian University Pension Management Company Limited, whose minimum capital was fixed at N20 billion.

Economy

Three Securities Sink NASD Exchange by 0.68%

Published

1 hour ago

19/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Thursday, December 18.

According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc led the losers’ group after it slipped by N2.87 to N36.78 per share from N39.65 per share, Golden Capital Plc depreciated by 77 Kobo to end at N6.98 per unit versus the previous day’s N7.77 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped 19 Kobo to sell at N60.00 per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of N60.19 per share.

At the close of business, the market capitalisation lost N16.81 billion to finish at N2.147 billion compared with the preceding session’s N2.164 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 24.76 points to 3,589.88 points from 3,614.64 points.

Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold increased by 49.3 per cent to 30.5 million units from 20.4 million units, the value of securities surged by 211.8 per cent to N225.1 million from N72.2 million, and the number of deals jumped by 33.3 per cent to 28 deals from 21 deals.

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value with a year-to-date sale of 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

Similarly, InfraCredit Plc ended as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units exchanged for N524.9 million.

Economy

NGX Index Crosses 150,000 points as Market Cap Nears N96trn

Published

1 hour ago

19/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has again crossed the 150,000-point threshold on Thursday as the demand of for local intensifies.

The market was up by 0.35 per cent during the session, with the NGX index inching higher by 520.23 points to 150,363.05 points from the previous day’s 149,842.82 points and the market capitalisation climbed by N332 billion to N95.857 trillion from N95.525 trillion.

During the session, the consumer goods index grew by 1.23 per cent, the banking counter expanded by 0.56 per cent, and the energy sector appreciated by 0.05 per cent.

However, the insurance industry went down by 0.23 per cent, while the commodity and the industrial goods sectors closed flat.

Nestle Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N1,958.00, Guinness Nigeria improved by 9.98 per cent to N289.70, Aluminium Extrusion Industries rose by 9.76 per cent to N11.25, DAAR Communications soared by 9.20 per cent to 95 Kobo, and Mecure Industries surged by 9.13 per cent to N55.00.

On the flip side, Stanbic IBTC lost 9.33 per cent to settle at N95.20, Lasaco Assurance went down by 9.09 per cent to N2.50, Africa Prudential slipped by 8.82 per cent, Austin Laz depreciated by 8.82 per cent to N12.40, and Sterling Holdings crashed by 6.12 per cent to N6.90.

There were 35 price gainers and 26 price losers yesterday, implying a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

During the session, a total of 839.8 million equities valued at N32.8 billion exchanged hands in 23,211 deals compared with the 5.9 billion equities worth N216.2 billion traded in 25,205 deals a day earlier, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 85.77 per cent, 84.83 per cent, and 7.91 per cent apiece.

The day’s busiest stock was First Holdco with a turnover of 385.6 million units sold for N15.6 billion, FCMB traded 76.0 million units worth N805.3 million, Lasaco Assurance exchanged 43.6 million units valued at N111.8 million, Access Holdings transacted 29.6 million units worth N616.8 million, and Chams sold 24.8 million units valued at N75.4 million.