Economy

Asian Equities Rise Amid Protests in Hong Kong

Published

5 years ago

30/08/2019

By Investors Hub

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Friday, even as Chinese and Hong Kong markets ended on a muted note amid the ongoing mass protests in Hong Kong calling for political freedom and self-determination for the semi-autonomous territory.

Underlying sentiment remained supported by signs that the U.S. and China are set to resume trade talks in September.

Chinese shares slipped into the red as investors awaited manufacturing data for directional cues. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 4.68 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,886.24, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gave up early gains to end roughly flat.

Meanwhile, Japanese shares rose as the yen moved lower following positive developments in the U.S.-China trade war and investors digested a raft of mixed local economic data.

Industrial production in Japan rose a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent sequentially in July, a preliminary reading showed. That beat forecasts for a 0.3 percent gain following the 3.3 percent drop in June.

Japan’s retail trade declined 2.3 percent in the month, and the jobless rate dipped to its lowest level in 27 years, while overall consumer prices in the Tokyo region were up 0.6 percent year-on-year in August, separate reports showed.

The Nikkei 225 Index surged up 243.44 points, or 1.2 percent, to 20,704.37, while the broader Topix closed 1.5 percent higher at 1,511.86.

Exporters Canon, Honda Motor, Toyota Motor and Honda Motor rose 1-2 percent. In the tech sector, Advantest soared 4.4 percent and Tokyo Electron advanced 1.7 percent. Market heavyweight SoftBank climbed 2.9 percent.

Australian markets ended sharply higher, with banks, miners and technology stocks leading the surge on hopes of easing U.S.-China trade tensions.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 96.80 points, or 1.5 percent, to 6,604.20, extending gains for the fourth straight session. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 92.50 points, or 1.4 percent, at 6,698.20.

The big four banks rose 1-2 percent in reaction to soothing comments on trade by the Chinese Commerce Ministry.

Miners BHP, Rio Tinto, South32 and Fortescue Metals Group jumped 2-4 percent, while Afterpay Touch Group, a technology-driven payments company, soared 4.6 percent. In the oil sector, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Santos climbed 2-3 percent.

Shipbuilder Austal surged up by 14.4 percent as it reported a 64 percent spike in full-year profit on strong revenue growth.

On the other hand, lithium miner Galaxy Resources lost 2.2 percent after reporting a huge half-year loss, primarily due to an impairment charge related to its flagship Mt Cattlin project.

Gold miners Evolution, Northern Star and Regis Resources dropped 1-2 percent as gold prices edged lower on positive signs for trade talks.

Shares of Slater and Gordon were placed in a trading halt as the law firm taps shareholders to raise A$75.6 million to pay down its debt and bolster its balance sheet.

Seoul stocks posted strong gains, with tech, auto and steel companies leading the surge, as the government finalized the most aggressive spending plan since the 2008/09 global financial crisis for next year and the country’s central bank maintained its key interest rate, as widely expected. The benchmark Kospi rallied 34.38 points, or 1.8 percent, to close at 1,967.79.

Economy

Nigeria Led Africa’s Upstream Oil, Gas Investments in 2024

Published

17 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.

The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.

According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.

Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.

Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.

Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.

Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.

In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.

Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.

Economy

UBN Property Triggers 0.22% Loss at NASD OTC Exchange

Published

20 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.

It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.

However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.

The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.

At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.

Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.

Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,550/$1 at Official Market, Gains N5 at Black Market

Published

21 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira weakened against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 20 amid FX pressures associated with this period.

Most people who came into the country for Christmas and New Year holidays are already going back and are in need of forex, putting pressure on the local currency.

Also, the poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to end to the 42-day access granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators to buy forex at official price.

According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the Nigerian Naira lost 0.16 per cent or N2.47 on the greeback yesterday to sell at N1,550.05/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s rate of N1,547.58/$1.

Similarly, the Naira slumped against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on Monday by N23.39 to trade at N1,906.98/£1 versus N1,883.59/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N23.14 to sell for N1,613.48/€1 compared with last Friday’s N1,590.34/€1.

However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Dollar during the session by N5 to quote at N1,665/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,670/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it turned red yesterday as the US President, Mr Donald Trump, didn’t bring up the much-expected subject of crypto in his inauguration speech on Monday afternoon.

Mr Trump had promised a far more friendly crypto policy stance than the previous administration but in the long speech that announced his plans in the coming days, he didn’t make mention of Bitcoin or crypto.

Just over the weekend, the President ignited a speculative frenzy with the Friday evening launch of the Trump meme coin, which was shortly followed by a meme coin associated with his wife, Melania.

Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled yesterday by 6.3 per cent to $0.3419, Solana (SOL) slumped by 4.7 per cent to $235.32, Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to $0.9777, and Litecoin (LTC) moderated by 1.9 per cent to $114.98.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.7 per cent to $3,241.36, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 1.4 per cent to $693.30, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.2 per cent to $3.06, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.8 per cent to $101,746.99, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.