Economy
Asian Stocks Rise on Strong US Jobs Data
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks rose on Monday as investors cheered unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs data for October as well as the prospects of a long-term U.S.-China trade deal. The Japanese markets were closed for the Culture Day holiday.
The “Phase One” trade deal with China, once completed, will be signed somewhere in the U.S., President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday.
Separately, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Bloomberg that licenses would be released “very shortly” for U.S. firms to sell components to Huawei Technologies Co.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 17.29 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,975.49 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 446.54 points, or 1.7 percent, to 27,547.30 after the Chinese Commerce Ministry said the world’s two largest economies had reached “consensus on principles” during a “serious and constructive” telephone call between their main trade negotiators.
Encouraged by Beijing’s increasing efforts to open up its financial markets, investors awaited Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned keynote speech at the Shanghai international import exhibition for further direction.
Australian markets closed higher even as banks declined after Westpac Banking Corp. reported a 15 percent slide in full-year cash profit, cut its dividend for the first time in a decade, and announced a $2.5 billion capital raising.
Shares of Westpac entered a trading halt until November 5, while the other three big banks fell between 0.9 percent and 2.5 percent ahead of the RBA’s monthly policy meeting due on Tuesday.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 17.80 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,686.90, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 20.70 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6,799.80.
Mining stocks surged as investors cheered signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks. BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group climbed 2-4 percent.
Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Origin Energy rose between half a percent and 1 percent after oil prices jumped 4 percent on Friday following stronger than expected economic data in both the U.S. and China.
Australia’s retail sales growth halved in September, reflecting weak consumer spending despite interest rate cuts, official data revealed today.
Retail turnover climbed 0.2 percent month-on-month in September, slower than the 0.4 percent increase seen in August. Economists had forecast sales to grow 0.4 percent again.
Seoul stocks rose for the third straight session and the Korean won hit a nearly four-month high against the U.S. dollar on hopes the U.S. and China will reach a phase one trade deal this month.
The Kospi surged up 30.04 points, or 1.4 percent, to close at 2,130.24, the highest level in almost four months. Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics rallied 2.2 percent, chipmaker SK Hynix advanced 1.9 percent and national carrier Korean Air Lines added 3.6 percent.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, 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 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 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 sold for N8.4 billion, followed 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.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, July 13, at N1,379.65/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.44 to exchange at N1,848.18/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,850.62/£1, and lost 73 Kobo against the Euro to sell at N1,576.39/€1 versus last Friday’s N1,575.66/€1.
At the GTBank fore counter, the Naira declined by N2 to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s rate of N1,386/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,400/$1.
Market analysts expect the Naira to trade within a relatively stable range, supported by sustained FX inflows and a continued market intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), although persistent underlying FX demand is likely to keep depreciation pressures elevated.
According to Monday’s trading data, interbank FX turnover surged by 21.14 per cent to $86.136 million from $71.044 million at the previous trading session on Friday.
However, interbank deal counts declined to 85 from 87 on Monday, reflecting the absence of pressure from US Dollar payments against local units. Last week, total foreign exchange inflows amounted to $0.97 billion, according to a Coronation Merchant Bank research report.
Analysts reported that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained the largest source of inflows, contributing 30.29% or $0.29 billion, closely followed by Exporters and Importers at 30.14 per cent.
Non-bank corporates accounted for 26.49 per cent or $0.26 billion, while the CBN contributed 6.93 per cent or $0.07 billion. Other sources made up the remaining 5.4 per cent of total inflows.
In the cryptocurrency market, major coins came under pressure following heightened expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase as soon as July, just ahead of key US inflation data and congressional testimony from Chairman Kevin Warsh came into focus.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.2 per cent to $62,627.03, Solana (SOL) dipped by 1.5 per cent to $75.18, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3248, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $1.06, and Cardano (ADA) lost 0.6 per cent to close at $0.1589.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.5 per cent to $1,784.26, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.2 per cent to $0.073, and Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $569.23, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
