Economy

Asian Stock Markets Crash Amidst Heavy Selling Pressure

Published

7 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

NASD OTC Sheds 0.36% as FrieslandCampina, Food Concepts Retreat

Published

34 minutes ago

30/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Food Concepts Plc helped root the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in negative territory, following a 0.36 per cent slide on Monday, June 29.

FrieslandCampina, which is the maker of milk brands Peak Milk and Three Crowns, lost N13.44 to trade at N141.76 per unit compared with its previous price of N155.2o per unit, while Food Concepts, which is the parent company of fast food giant Chicken Republic, declined by 8 Kobo to end at N2.43 per share versus last Friday’s price of N2.51 per share.

Consequently, the NASD Security Index (NSI) slid by 15.51 points to 4,261.56 points from 4,277.07 points, and the market capitalisation lost N9.31 billion to close at N2.557 trillion compared with the previous value of N2.567 trillion.

The bourse finished with two price advancers yesterday, with Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc up by N3.80 to trade at N88.48 per unit versus N84.68 per unit, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc gaining 31 Kobo to end at N21.40 per share versus N21.09 per share.

The volume of securities traded by investors on the first trading day of the week contracted by 75.9 per cent to 229,314 units from the previous 955,096 units, and the value of securities slumped 17.8 per cent to N24.6 million from N29.9 million, while the number of deals increased by 9.7 per cent to 34 deals from the 31 deals recorded last Friday.

At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was 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 68.7 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the day 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 followed with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million

Economy

Naira Crashes to N1,383 Per Dollar at NAFEX

Published

2 hours ago

30/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira crashed against the United States Dollar by N2.70 0r 0.2 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, June 29, to N1,383.63/$1 from last Friday’s exchange rate of N1,380.93/$1.

This was influenced by FX pressure on the domestic currency, which also weakened its exchange rate against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment during the session by N6.06 to N1,831.64/£1 from the previous value of N1,824.90/£1. It also depleted the Nigerian currency against the Euro by 45 Kobo, trading at N1,578.03/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,577.58/€1.

However, it maintained stability against the greenback at the parallel market and the GTBank forex desk yesterday at N1,395/$1 and N1,387/$1, respectively.

Despite the pressure on the Naira, it is still trading within the expected range, as a result of ongoing FX reforms, stronger market liquidity, and increased transparency in the FX market.

Unlike in previous years, the improved stability is reflected in the relatively narrow spread between the official exchange rate and rates in the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment, suggesting that reforms introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are helping to improve price discovery and reduce distortions.

Also, Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the apex bank with the capacity to support the Naira and meet the country’s external obligations, have continued to trend upward. Most recent data published on the apex bank’s website showed that reserves rose to $51.29 billion as of June 26, 2026.

In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) lost momentum after it dropped below $60,000, remaining under its 200-week moving average as currency markets swung following the Japanese Yen slipping to four-decade lows against the US Dollar.

Strategy, the largest public holder of bitcoin, plans to sell more than $1 billion of BTC as part of a $1.25 billion monetisation program, a sharp break from Michael Saylor’s long-held “never sell” stance. BTC traded at $59,463.89.

Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.9 per cent to $0.0723, TRON (TRX) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $0.3196, Cardano (ADA) dipped 0.2 per cent to $0.1446, and Ripple (XRP) dropped 0.1 per cent to close at $1.04.

On the flip side, Solana (SOL) gained 2.5 per cent to sell at $73.99, Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,587.51, and Binance Coin (BNB) added 0.01 per cent to sell for $552.58, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

NGX Diarrhoea Persists, Further Loses 1.57% Amid Panic Sell-Offs

Published

4 hours ago

30/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Panic sell-offs by investors have left the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited losing weight very fast, as it further gave up 1.57 per cent on Monday.

Yesterday, only 17 equities ended on the advancers’ log, while 45 equities finished on the laggards’ chart, representing a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.

All the major sectors of the bourse tasted defeat during the session, with the insurance counter down by 1.33 per cent. The banking space lost 1.22 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.63 per cent, the industrial goods segment shed 0.39 per cent, and the energy sector tumbled by 0.06 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) stumbled by 3,682.70 points to 228,366.32 points from 232,049.02 points, and the market capitalisation slipped by N2.363 trillion to N146.542 trillion from N148.905 trillion.

Learn Africa lost 10.00 per cent to close at N9.00, MTN Nigeria also declined by 10.00 per cent to N747.00, Unilever Nigeria crashed by 10.00 per cent to N126.00, Austin Laz dropped 9.94 per cent to settle at N3.17, and Universal Insurance dipped by 9.90 per cent to quote at N28.12.

Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance gained 4.08 per cent to end at N2.04, Cornerstone Insurance chalked up 3.45 per cent to trade at N6.00, Neimeth appreciated by 3.03 per cent to N8.50, Livestock Feeds climbed by 1.92 per cent to N7.95, and C&I Leasing grew by 1.90 per cent to N5.35.

Business Post observed a surge in activity level on the first trading day of this week, with the trading volume, value, and number of deals up by 156.37 per cent, 137.50 per cent, and 38.50 per cent.

This was because market participants transacted 996.5 million stocks worth N43.7 billion in 61,813 deals on Monday compared with the 388.7 million stocks valued at N18.4 billion traded in 44,631 deals last Friday.

Ikeja Hotel exchanged 305.5 million shares for N13.2 billion, Access Holdings sold 289.9 million equities worth N6.6 billion, Dangote Sugar traded 29.4 million stocks valued at N1.9 billion, Chams transacted 22.0 million shares worth N87.9 million, and Zenith Bank traded 21.2 million equities for N2.4 billion.