Economy

Asian Stocks Finish Lower on Escalating Trade Tensions

Published

7 years ago

31/05/2019

By Investors Hub

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday in response to escalating trade tensions and the release of weak Chinese data.

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico in an effort to curb illegal immigration to the U.S.

In a tweet, Trump said that beginning June 10, a 5 percent tariff would be imposed and would slowly rise until the situation is resolved.

Chinese shares fell modestly as Chinese manufacturing activity for the month of May missed expectations. The official manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.4 from 50.1 in April.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index slipped 7.11 points or 0.2 percent to 2,898.70, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 213.79 points or 0.8 percent at 26,901.09.

Japanese shares tumbled as the yen strengthened and Germany’s benchmark medium-term government bond yield hit the lowest level on record. Meanwhile, a slew of Japanese data released today proved to be a mixed bag.

The Nikkei 225 Index plunged 341.34 points or 1.6 percent to 20,601.19, while the broader Topix closed 1.3 percent lower at 1,512.28.

Automakers were among the major losers. Mazda Motor lost 7.1 percent, Isuzu Motors declined 4.9 percent, Nissan Motor slumped 5.3 percent, Honda Motor plummeted 4.3 percent and Toyota Motor declined 2.9 percent.

Industrial output in Japan rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent in April, exceeding expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.6 percent decline in March.

The total value of retail sales in Japan came in roughly flat sequentially on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, missing expectations for an increase of 0.6 percent and down from the 0.2 percent gain in March.

The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent in April. That was in line with expectations and down from 2.5 percent in March.

Overall consumer prices in the Tokyo region were up 1.1 percent year-on-year in May. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 1.2 percent and down from 1.4 percent in April.

Meanwhile, Australian shares ended little changed with a positive bias as Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Mexico if the country does not step up its enforcement actions.

Mining heavyweights ended mixed, while pharma heavyweights such as Cochlear and CSL advanced 1.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

Gold miner Evolution Mining soared 5.5 percent and Newcrest added 2.5 percent after gold prices rose to a two-week high. St Barbara slumped 5.9 percent after slashing its 2019 gold production outlook.

Energy stocks Origin Energy, Oil Search, Santos and Woodside Petroleum dropped 1-2 percent after crude oil prices tumbled almost 4 percent overnight.

Crown Resorts plunged 3 percent after casino mogul James Packer sold nearly half his stake in the firm to Hong Kong’s Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd., dampening hopes for a full buyout.

Seoul stocks edged up slightly as the Bank of Korea kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged amid increased uncertainties concerning economic growth outlook. The benchmark Kospi inched up 2.94 points or 0.1 percent to 2,041.74.

Industrial production in South Korea climbed a seasonally adjusted 1.6 percent in April, Statistics Korea said today – down from 2.1 percent in March. On a yearly basis, industrial production eased 0.1 percent after sliding 2.3 percent in the previous month.

Economy

Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange

Published

14 hours ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.

The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.

During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active 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 worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.

Economy

Cautious Trading, Profit-taking Weaken Nigeria’s Stock Exchange by 0.66%

Published

14 hours ago

27/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.

This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.

Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.

Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.

The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.

As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.

Economy

Official FX Market Sees Naira Dip to N1,380.93/$1

Published

14 hours ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.

Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.

Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.

Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.

If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.

At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.

On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.