Economy

Asian Equities Depreciate as Trade Tensions Worry Investors

Published

6 years ago

05/09/2018

By Investors Hub

Asian stocks fell on Wednesday to extend recent losses as investors continued to fret about trade tensions and the turbulence in emerging markets, with South Africa slipping into a recession for the first time since 2009.

A cautious undertone prevailed after a threat by the United States to impose tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese imports as soon as a public-comment period ends on Thursday.

China?s Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 46.24 points or 1.7 percent to 2,704.34, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged 729.49 points or 2.6 percent to 27,243.85.

Activity in China?s service sector continued to expand in August, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from Caixin revealed with a 10-month low PMI score of 51.5.That missed expectations for 52.6 and was down sharply from 52.8 in July.

The business sector in Hong Kong continued to contract in August, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed with a PMI score of 48.5. That?s up from 48.2 in July.

Japanese shares fell as trade worries persisted and tourism-linked shares succumbed to selling pressure after a powerful typhoon slammed into western Japan, cutting power, overturning cars and killing at least eight people.

The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 116.07 points or 0.5 percent to 22,580.83, extending losses for a fourth straight session. The broader Topix Index closed 0.8 percent lower at 1,704.96.

Airline ANA Holdings dropped 1.8 percent, cosmetic maker Shiseido lost 4.2 percent and Fancl Corp plunged 9.7 percent. Line Corp, a subsidiary of the South Korean internet search giant Naver Corporation, plummeted 5 percent on fund raising reports.

Meanwhile, market heavyweight Fast Retailing climbed 3.2 percent after unveiling strong monthly sales figures.

On the economic front, the service sector in Japan expanded at a faster in August, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed with a PMI score of 51.5, up from 51.3 in July.

Australian stocks tumbled despite second quarter GDP data coming in above expectations. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index slumped 62.70 points or 1 percent to 6,230.40, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 59.70 points or 0.9 percent at 6,339.20.

Australia’s GDP grew a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent in the second quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. That beat forecasts for a gain of 0.7 percent following the 1.0 percent increase in the three months prior. On a yearly basis, GDP was up 3.4 percent, the fastest pace in six years.

Separately, another survey showed that the service sector in Australia continued to expand in August, albeit at a slower pace. The corresponding index stood at 52.2 in the month, down from 53.6 in July.

Miners BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group, Rio Tinto and South32 slumped 2-3 percent after commodity prices fell sharply overnight on concerns that renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and its partners may hamper global economic growth.

Lender Westpac Banking Corp dropped 1.3 percent after settling a record A$35 million ($25 million) fine for wrongly approving thousands of mortgages. The other three banks ended down between 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent.

Energy stocks also closed broadly lower, with Origin Energy and Oil Search losing 1.2 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Economy

NASD OTC Exchange Rises 0.33%

Published

6 hours ago

24/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose further by 0.33 per cent on Thursday, January 23, as appetite for unlisted stocks continued to grow.

During the trading session, the value of the bourse went up by N7.6 billion to N1.767 trillion from the N1.76 trillion it closed in the preceding session, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) made an additional 10.33 points to wrap the trading day at 3,120.3 points compared with the 3,09.80 points recorded at the midweek session.

Business Post reports that the share price of Okitipupa Plc increased on Thursday by N4.35 to end the day at N47.90 per unit compared with the previous day’s N43.55 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc gained 14 Kobo to settle at N1.74 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1.60 per share.

On the flip side, Impresit Bakolori Plc suffered a decline of 10 Kobo yesterday to trade at 95 Kobo per unit versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1.05 per unit.

When the exchange closed for the session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went up by 70,008 per cent to 407.4 million units from the 581,160 units transacted a day earlier.

Equally, the value of shares traded during the session jumped by 16,665.9 per cent to N391.2 million from the N2.3 million recorded at midweek, and the number of deals increased by 65 per cent to 30 deals from the 20 deals posted on Wednesday.

Impresit Bakolori Plc topped the activity chart as the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 406.5 million units worth N386.1 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.3 million units valued at N170.4 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units sold for N44.3 million.

However, Impresit Bakolori Plc snatched the top spot as most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 406.5 million units worth N386.1 million, as Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc dropped to second position for selling 26.3 million units sold for N6.3 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc occupied third with 9.2 million units valued at N44.3 million.

Economy

Naira Firms to N1,548/$1 at Official Market, Tumbles at Black Market

Published

7 hours ago

24/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recovered about 0.26 per cent or N3.99 against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, January 23 after coming under pressure in recent times.

During the session, the exchange rate of the local currency to its American counterpart closed at N1,548.59/$1 in the official market compared with the previous day’s N1,552.58/$1.

Also, against the Pound Sterling, the domestic currency gained N3.32 yesterday to trade at N1,912.21/£1 compared with Wednesday’s value of N1,915.53/£1 and on the Euro, it improved by N3.82 to sell for N1,617.72/€1 versus N1,613.89/€1.

The forex market may be reacting positively to news that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would launch a FX Code, which will serve as a guideline to the banking industry to promote ethical conduct of Authorised Dealers in the Nigerian FX market, next week.

The code will further reduce speculative activities, eliminate market distortions, and give the CBN improved oversight capabilities to effectively regulate the market.

The bank noted that authorised dealers would subsequently conduct all FX transactions in the interbank FX market on the EFEMS approved by the apex bank where transactions will be reflected immediately.

However, in the black market segment, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback during the session to quote at N1,665/$1, in contrast to midweek’s rate of N1,660/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it was lively yesterday as attention is increasingly centered on potential policy developments under the government of President Donald Trump of the US.

On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order to ban the digital dollar and promote crypto and AI innovation in the country.

Meanwhile, the US data released recently showed the “all tenant rent” index, which leads the shelter inflation in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose at a slower pace last quarter. That has raised hopes that the US Federal Reserve will walk back on its hawkish December rate forecasts.

These helped Ethereum (ETH) gain 5.4 per cent on Thursday to sell at $3,394.79, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 4.4 per cent to $260.86, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 2.9 per cent to $1.00, and Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 2.6 per cent to $116.78.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 2.1 per cent to $1o4,978.31, Ripple (XRP) leapt by 0.7 per cent to $3.16, Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 0.6 per cent to $0.3572, and Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 1.6 per cent to $710.31, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Brent, WTI Dip as Trump Urges OPEC to Lower Prices

Published

7 hours ago

24/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The global crude oil market waned on Thursday after the US President, Mr Donald Trump, urged the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to bring down the cost of the commodity during his address at the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Brent crude futures lost 71 cents or 0.9 per cent after the speech to close at $78.29 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) crude futures contracted by 82 cents or 1.09 per cent to $74.62 per barrel.

At WEF in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump announced he would ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil.

Since he took office, the uncertainty over how Mr Trump’s proposed tariffs and energy policies would affect global economic growth and energy demand have weighed on prices.

He threatened to add new tariffs to his sanctions threat against Russia if the country does not make a deal to end its war with Ukraine.

He also vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs and impose 25 per cent tariffs against Canada and Mexico.

On China, Mr Trump said his administration was discussing a 10 per cent punitive duty because fentanyl is being sent from there to the US.

On Monday, he declared a national energy emergency intended to provide him with the authority to reduce environmental restrictions on energy infrastructure and projects; and ease permitting for new transmission and pipeline infrastructure.

Market analysts say there will be more potential for a downward choppy movement in the oil market in the near term due to the Trump administration’s lack of clarity on trade tariffs policy and the impending higher oil supplies from the US.

Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory dip of 1 million barrels for the week to January 17. In fuels, the EIA estimated mixed changes.

The change in crude inventories compared with a draw of 2 million barrels for the previous week, which also saw another round of sizable builds in fuels.

This contradicts forecasts by the American Petroleum Institute (API) which showed that on the US oil inventory front, crude stocks rose by 958,000 barrels in the week ending January 17 and added that gasoline (petrol) inventories rose by 3.23 million barrels and distillate stocks climbed by 1.88 million barrels, they said.