Economy
US Stocks May Extend Rally on Growing Trade Talks Optimism
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the rally seen over the two previous sessions.
Growing optimism about ongoing U.S.-China trade talks is likely to contribute to continued strength on Wall Street as the high-level negotiations move into their second day.
President Donald Trump told reporters shortly after the close of trading on Thursday that the talks with China are going ?really well.?
?So, we just completed a negotiation with China. We?re doing very well. We?re having another one tomorrow. I?m meeting with the Vice Premier over at the White House,? Trump said. ?And I think it?s going really well, I will say. I think it?s going really well.?
While Trump is almost always upbeat about talks with China, his remarks were backed up by a White House official, who told Reuters the talks had gone very well, ?probably better than expected.?
A U.S. Chamber of Commerce official briefed on the talks also told reporters the two sides could at least reach a partial deal that includes the U.S. calling off a planned increase in tariffs on Chinese goods.
Traders are likely to remain focused on any reports of progress in the talks or a lack thereof, potentially leading to some volatility on Wall Street.
Following the strong upward move seen on Wednesday, stocks saw some further upside during trading on Thursday. With the gains, the major averages further offset the sharp pullback that was seen earlier in the week.
The major averages pulled back off their best levels of the day but remained firmly positive. The Dow climbed 150.66 points or 0.6 percent to 26,496.67, the Nasdaq advanced 47.04 points or 0.6 percent to 7,950.78 and the S&P 500 rose 18.73 points or 0.6 percent to 2,938.13.
Buying interest emerged on Wall Street after Trump revealed he plans to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He as part of high-level U.S.-China trade talks.
“Big day of negotiations with China. They want to make a deal, but do I? I meet with the Vice Premier tomorrow at The White House,” Trump tweeted.
The tweet from Trump offset concerns generated by reports suggesting Liu could leave Washington earlier than originally planned.
Adding to the positive sentiment, Liu told Chinese state-run media Xinhua the Chinese delegation has come to the talks with “great sincerity and is willing to make serious exchanges with the U.S. on issues of common concern.”
“On the basis of equality and mutual respect, China is willing to reach consensus with the U.S. through this round of consultations on issues of mutual concern to prevent further escalation and spread of friction,” Liu said.
Traders are likely to remain focused on reports regarding the highly anticipated negotiations and any signs of progress or lack thereof.
As a result of the focus on the trade talks, traders largely shrugged off a usually closely watched report from the Labor Department showing U.S. consumer prices were essentially flat in the month of September.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index was unchanged in September after inching up by 0.1 percent in August. Economists had expected another 0.1 percent uptick.
Consumer prices came in unchanged as higher prices for shelter and food were offset by declines in prices for energy and used cars and trucks.
Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices crept up by 0.1 percent in September after rising by 0.3 percent for three straight months. Core prices had been expected to rise by 0.2 percent.
“The muted gain in core consumer prices in September underlines that even after the introduction of additional tariffs on Chinese imports, inflationary pressures are still well-contained,” said Andrew Hunter, Senior U.S. Economist at Capital Economics.
“With wage growth leveling off and unit labor costs growth stable, we don’t think core inflation will rise further from here,” he added. “As a result, the Fed will remain focused on the incoming activity data, which we expect to prompt one more 25bp rate cut by year-end.”
A separate report released by the Labor Department showed a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended October 5th.
Steel stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances of the day, benefiting from the optimism about the U.S.-China trade talks.
Reflecting the strength in the steel sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index surged up by 2.9 percent, climbing further off the more than one-month closing low set on Tuesday.
Significant strength also emerged among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The index also continued to rebound after ending Tuesday’s trading at its lowest closing level in well over a month.
Financial, transportation, and natural gas stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Market bellwethers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 2.08 per cent on Monday, August 3.
CSCS Plc, the Nigerian securities depository company, gained N10.00 to close at N112.00 per share compared with the previous session’s N102.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc advanced by N4.71 to quote at N152.64 per unit versus last Friday’s N147.93 per unit.
As a result, the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 92.14 points to finish at 4,523.85 points compared with the preceding session’s 4,431.71 points, and the market capitalisation appreciated by N55.31 billion to N2.715 trillion from N2.659 trillion.
Business Post reports that the price of MRS Oil Plc crashed during the trading day by N12.00 to N120.00 per share from N132.00 per share, and UBN Property Plc dipped by 3 Kobo to N1.90 per unit from N1.93 per unit.
Trading data showed that the volume of securities exchanged rose by 113.1 per cent to 1.5 million units from 690,990 units, and the number of deals climbed by 19.2 per cent to 31 deals from 26 deals, while the value of securities slid by 13.1 per cent to N65.2 million from N75.0 million.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value 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 sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 76.8 million units traded for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has introduced a 1.5 per cent stamp duty on eligible virtual asset transactions, with the tax deducted directly from the cryptocurrency purchased before it is credited to the buyer’s wallet.
According to the new guidelines issued on Monday, anyone buying Bitcoin (BTC), USDT or other cryptocurrencies in Nigeria will receive fewer digital assets due to the deduction.
This requires registered crypto exchanges and other Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to withhold the levy in the digital asset being traded and remit it to the government, marking Nigeria’s most comprehensive move yet to bring cryptocurrency transactions into the country’s tax net.
Unlike traditional taxes deducted from a customer’s bank account, the 1.5 per cent charge will be taken from the cryptocurrency itself, meaning buyers will receive less Bitcoin, USDT or other tokens than they paid for.
The tax body stated that “income tax deducted at source and stamp duty shall be remitted to the service in the originating token of the transaction.”
Besides the new stamp duty, the guidelines also clarify how income tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and other tax obligations will apply to virtual asset activities such as trading, staking, mining and other crypto-related transactions.
To illustrate the new rule, the tax authority said a buyer who pays N1 million for one Bitcoin will receive only 0.985 BTC after 0.015 BTC is deducted as stamp duty and remitted to the government. When that Bitcoin is later sold, the next buyer will also have 1.5 per cent deducted from the cryptocurrency credited to their wallet.
The NRS said the guidelines are intended to provide clarity for taxpayers, crypto exchanges, peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace operators, financial institutions, tax consultants and all participants in Nigeria’s virtual asset ecosystem.
According to the guidelines, the 1.5 per cent duty applies to eligible virtual asset transactions facilitated through registered exchanges and other recognised intermediaries. Where a cryptocurrency is used to complete a transaction that already attracts stamp duty under the law, the applicable duty on the underlying instrument will also be payable.
For crypto users, the implication is higher transaction costs, as eligible purchases will attract the 1.5 per cent stamp duty, while VAT on exchange service fees and income tax on taxable gains may also apply, depending on the nature of the transaction.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week on a positive note, as it appreciated against the US Dollar by N3.39 or 0.25 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, August 3, to N1,364.83/$1 from N1,368.22/$1 last Friday.
However, it suffered a marginal decline against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by 10 Kobo to close at N1,837.89/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,837.79/£1, and lost 6 Kobo on the Euro to sell at N1,573.93/€1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s N1,573.87/€1.
At the black market segment, the Nigerian currency traded flat against the Dollar yesterday at N1,405/$1, and at the GTBank forex counter, it was unchanged at N1,374/$1.
Interbank FX transactions increased sharply as market makers’ activities raised total Dollar volume exchanged to $137.048 million, more than 132 per cent above $58.990 million in turnover at the previous close. The surge in turnover was driven by increased deals at the NFEM window. The central bank reported that deal count at the interbank FX window rose to 138 from 67 on Friday.
As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens advanced despite ongoing uncertainty around unresolved Coldcard wallet sweeps that have drained hundreds of Bitcoin (BTC), while traders are watching whether bitcoin can hold above $63,000 through the US session. BTC rose by 1.70 per cent to $63,765.88.
Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy disclosed Monday it sold 1,638 bitcoin for about $105 million between July 27 and Aug. 2, its third sale of 2026, per an SEC filing.
Also, an attacker has moved about 1,816 bitcoins, or roughly $114 million, from more than 5,200 addresses since July 30 in a fourth wave of sweeps targeting BTC in Coldcard-generated addresses.
Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 6.7 per cent to $0.1959, Binance Coin (BNB) gained 1.5 per cent to sell for $590.82, Solana (SOL) jumped by 1.3 per cent to $73.72, TRON (TRX) soared by 0.9 per cent to $0.3286, Dogecoin (DOGE) also grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0703, Ripple (XRP) advanced by 0.5 per cent to $1.07, and Ethereum (ETH) rose by 0.4 per cent to $1,863.33, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
