Economy

Asian Stocks Slip on Release of Chinese Inflation Data

Published

7 years ago

10/09/2019

By Investors Hub

Asian stocks ended Tuesday’s session on a mixed note as Chinese inflation data signaled weakness in domestic and overseas demand. Investors also awaited the ECB, Fed and BoJ meetings for fresh clues on the monetary policy outlook.

Chinese shares ended slightly lower after the release of the inflation data. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent to 3,021.20, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended marginally higher at 26,683.68.

Data showed Chinese consumer prices climbed at a steady pace in August, while producer prices declined further on weak demand, signaling deflationary pressures.

Consumer prices rose 2.8 percent year-on-year in August, the same pace of growth as seen in July. Economists had forecast the rate of inflation to slow to 2.7 percent.

Producer prices fell 0.8 percent annually after easing 0.3 percent in the previous month. Prices were expected to drop 0.9 percent.

Japanese shares hit a six-week high as a weak yen and higher bond yields helped lift exporters and financials. The Nikkei 225 Index ended the session up 73.68, points, or 0.4 percent, at 21,392, while the broader Topix closed 0.4 percent higher at 1,557.99.

Automakers Honda Motor, Toyota Motor and Subaru rose 1-2 percent as the safe-haven yen touched a five-week low of 107.46 per dollar. Mazda Motor shares soared 5 percent.

Nissan Motor jumped 3.7 percent on news that CEO Hiroto Saikawa will resign. Banks Mizuho Financial, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rallied 3-4 percent after U.S. government debt yields rose.

Construction machinery makers Komatsu and Hitachi Construction Machinery climbed 3-4 percent.

Meanwhile, Australian markets fell notably, dragged down by technology and healthcare stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 33.90 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,614.10, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 32.10 points, or 0.5 percent, at 6,728.

Tech stocks fell on valuation concerns, with Afterpay Touch Group slumping 4.1 percent and WiseTech Global tumbling 7 percent. In the healthcare sector, Heavyweight drugmaker CSL lost 2.7 percent.

Diversified miner South32 gave up 1.8 percent as copper prices slipped on concerns that China’s factory deflation could hit the global economy via exports.

Graphite miner Syrah Resources plummeted 33.3 percent after the company said it would reduce production in October-December to about 5,000 tons per month. Gold miners Evolution and Newcrest gave up around 4 percent as gold prices hit four-week lows.

On the other hand, Origin Energy, Oil Search, Woodside Petroleum and Santos climbed 2-4 percent, buoyed by a rise in oil prices on optimism that OPEC and other countries may agree to extend production cuts.

Australian business confidence and conditions deteriorated in August, survey results from the National Australia Bank showed today. The business confidence index fell to +1 from +4 in July.

Seoul stocks extended gains for the fifth day running on hopes that new talks between the U.S. and China can lead to progress. Markets were also supported by expectations of a new wave of stimulus by the European Central Bank.

The benchmark Kospi climbed 12.53 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 2,032.08 ahead of the upcoming Chuseok holidays, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving.

Economy

Unlisted Stock Investors’ Wealth Shrinks N30bn

Published

7 hours ago

05/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a loss of 1.13 per cent on Thursday, June 4, shrinking the market capitalisation by N30.03 billion to N2.630 trillion from N2.660 trillion on Wednesday.

Similarly, this brought down the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 50.19 points to 4,396.08 points from the 4,446.27 points recorded a day earlier.

The loss was influenced by the overpowering of the bulls by the bears, after the bourse closed with two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slumped by N20.03 to sell at N190.38 per unit compared with midweek’s N210.41 per unit. Food Concepts Plc declined by 25 Kobo to trade at N2.50 per share versus the previous day’s N3.00 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc crumbled by 2 Kobo to end at N1.32 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.34 per unit.

For the gainers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N2.93 to close at N78.34 per share compared with the previous price of N75.41 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 80 Kobo to settle at N16.80 per unit versus N16.00 per unit.

There was a slip in the volume of transactions yesterday by 46.8 per cent to 280,714 units from 527,221 units, as the value of trades dropped 66.5 per cent to N21.8 million from the preceding session’s N64.2 million, and the number of deals fell by 8.7 per cent to 42 deals from 46 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.

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

Economy

McNichols, Eterna, Aradel Crash Stock Market by 0.37%

Published

7 hours ago

05/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The domestic stock market crashed by 0.37 per cent on Thursday as a result of the decline in the price of shares of McNichols, Eterna, Aradel Holdings, and others.

Business Post reports that investor sentiment remained weak after the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended the session with 25 price gainers and 31 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.

McNichols lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N7.74, ABC Transport slipped by 9.88 per cent to N6.20, Eterna shrank by 9.85 per cent to N29.75, Aradel Holdings depreciated by 9.51 per cent to N1,749.90, and NPF Microfinance Bank contracted by 8.45 per cent to N5.20.

On the flip side, International Energy Insurance gained 10.00 per cent to close at N6.60, Omatek improved by 9.73 per cent to N2.03, Abbey Mortgage Bank surged by 9.68 per cent to N8.50, Cutix expanded by 9.66 per cent to N3.18, and John Holt grew by 7.79 per cent to N14.90.

As for the sectorial performance, the industrial goods and banking indices chalked up 0.54 per cent and 0.31 per cent, respectively. But the energy sector depleted by 4.90 per cent, the insurance counter tumbled by 0.58 per cent, and the consumer goods index slumped by 0.03 per cent.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) dipped by 905.30 points to 242,227.31 points from 243,132.61 points, and the market capitalisation stumbled by N581 billion to N155.359 trillion from N155.940 trillion.

During the session, investors traded 588.5 million equities valued at N27.9 billion in 57,352 deals compared with the 923.0 million equities worth N42.3 billion transacted in 69,332 deals on Wednesday, showing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 36.24 per cent, 34.04 per cent, and 17.28 per cent, respectively.

The most active equity yesterday was Access Holdings with 109.7 million units sold for N2.6 billion, FCMB traded 35.6 million units valued at N384.2 million, NGX Group transacted 28.1 million units worth N3.9 billion, Zenith Bank exchanged 26.9 million units for N3.3 billion, and Sterling Holdings recorded a turnover of 22.5 million units worth N176.1 million.

Economy

Naira Slips 0.1% to N1,358/$1 at Official FX Market

Published

8 hours ago

05/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

A 0.1 per cent or N1,49 loss was recorded by the Nigerian Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, June 4, closing at N1,358.75/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,347.26/$1.

In the same vein, the Naira depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market during the session by N5.39 to trade at N1,828.06/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,822.67/£1, but gained N6.75 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.83/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,584.39/€1.

At the black market and GTBank FX desk, the local currency traded flat against the Dollar during the session at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that NFEM interbank FX turnover contracted to $128.117 million in 121 deals on Thursday from $133.731 million the previous day.

On the positive side, Nigeria’s external reserves moved closer to a 2009 high of $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about the local currency outlook in the second half of 2026.

This improvement has been helped by heightened global uncertainty, which has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.

As for the cryptocurrency market, prices extended steep weekly losses as the broader artificial-intelligence trade that has driven global risk assets since 2026 faltered.

The sell-off was led by equity and currency markets, with semiconductor stocks, Asian indexes and several regional currencies sliding in a broad risk-off shift.

Persistent outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs and a rare BTC sale by Strategy have removed a key source of support, leaving markets focused on Friday’s US jobs report for clues on Federal Reserve policy and the fate of the AI trade. The most valued coin slipped 3.6 per cent to $61,914.58.

Cardano (ADA) plunged by 17.6 per cent to $0.1630, Solana (SOL) declined by 7.0 per cent to $65.69, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 6.9 per cent to $1,666.13, Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 6.5 per cent to $0.8445, and Ripple (XRP) crashed by 6.5 per cent to $1.11.

Further, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 4.3 per cent to $581.45, and TRON (TRX) dropped 1.9 per cent to sell at $0.3261, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) gained 0.01 per cent each to sell at $0.9990 and $0.9998, respectively.