Economy
Asian Stocks Stumble as Turkey’s Lira Falls Again
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets pacing the declines as Turkey?s lira resumed its decline after rebounding more than 8 percent against the dollar overnight.
Turkish President Recep Erdogan threatened to boycott U.S. electronic goods, including Apple’s iPhone device, retaliating in a dispute with Washington that has contributed to the lira?s plunge to record lows.
Chinese shares fell sharply to close just off their 2018 lows as investors fretted about Turkey?s future and the spillover of the crisis to other emerging markets.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunged 57.71 points or 2.1 percent to 2,723.36, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 429.34 points or 1.6 percent to 27,323.59.
Japanese shares fell on profit taking after sharp gains in the previous session. The Nikkei 225 Index shed 151.86 points or 0.7 percent to finish at 22,204.22 after spiking by 2.3 percent in the previous session, its biggest single-day gain since March. The broader Topix index closed 0.8 percent lower at 1,698.03.
Heavyweights SoftBank Group and Fanuc Corp gave up 2.6 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, while exporters Canon, Panasonic and Honda Motor fell more than 1 percent.
Gaming stocks fell across the board after Chinese regulators froze approval of game licenses amid a government shake-up. Nintendo, Square Enix and Capcom all lost around 3 percent.
Meanwhile, Australian shares closed higher as CSL and Wesfarmers posted strong gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 29.40 points or 0.5 percent to 6,329 and the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 29.50 points or 0.5 percent at 6,415.70.
Blood products giant CSL soared 6.4 percent. The company raised its dividend after reporting a 29 percent jump in full-year net profit, thanks to strong sales in the United States.
Wesfarmers rallied 3.2 percent despite the company reporting a sharp drop in full-year profits due to $1.41 billion in discontinued operations and $300 million in write-downs.
Lender Commonwealth Bank fell 2.5 percent on going ex-dividend, while the other three banks rose between 0.8 percent and 1.7 percent.
On the other hand, insurer Insurance Australia Group slumped 5.8 percent after its annual profit fell slightly due to a drop in investment income and a higher tax bill. Suncorp Group shares tumbled 3 percent.
A decrease in base metal prices pulled down mining stocks, with Rio Tinto, South32, Alumina and Fortescue Metals Group falling 1-4 percent.
Oil & gas explorer Woodside Petroleum slid half a percent despite the company reporting a 6 percent rise in net profit and raising its 2018 production outlook.
Media firm Fairfax Media dropped 1.7 percent as it reported a full-year net loss on lower revenues and one-time charges.
In economic news, the latest survey from Westpac Bank revealed that consumer confidence in Australia ebbed in August, sinking 2.3 percent to a score of 103.6 after a 3.9 percent jump in July.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange further appreciated by 0.58 per cent on Tuesday, May 19, buoyed by strong investor appetite for unlisted securities.
Data from the bourse showed that the volume of securities traded during the session ballooned by 365,661.8 per cent to 1.9 billion units compared with the previous day’s 514,142 units, as the value of transactions surged by 30,433.9 per cent to N5.3 billion from the preceding session’s N17.4 million, and the number of deals increased by 22.2 per cent, as these trades were executed in 60 deals versus the 27 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 60.9 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion.
GNI Plc was also 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 sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
During the session, there were three price gainers and one price loser, led by Afriland Properties Plc, which went down by 5 Kobo to trade at N16.90 per share versus the previous day’s N16.95 per share.
But FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc appreciated by N12.45 to N151.79 per unit from N146.55 per unit, CSCS Plc expanded by 62 Kobo to N70.62 per share from N70.00 per share, and UBN Property Plc added 20 Kobo to close at N2.24 per unit versus N2.04 per unit.
At the close of business, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 24.05 points to 4,157.75 points from 4,133.70 points, and the market capitalisation chalked up N14.39 billion to close at N2.487 trillion compared with Monday’s N2.473 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, May 19, by 17 Kobo or 0.01 per cent to trade at N1,373.87/$1 compared to the previous day’s N1,373.70/$1.
However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window by 5 Kobo to close at N1,839.61/£1 versus Monday’s rate of N1,839.66/£1, and gained N5.97 against the Euro to settle at N1,594.52/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,600.49/€1.
Data from GTBank FX bench showed that the Naira appreciated against the US Dollar yesterday by N2 to sell at N1,381/$1 versus N1,383, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,390/$1.
The outcome across the board came as Nigeria’s external reserves have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, which may provide some support for FX market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and broader macroeconomic stability efforts.
Currency traders and investors are expected to continue monitoring CBN policy direction, foreign portfolio inflows, crude oil earnings, and external reserve performance as key indicators influencing the naira’s trajectory in the coming months.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting began on Tuesday with announcements of decisions expected later on Wednesday after inflation ticked up in April.
In the cryptocurrency market, major digital coins were down as traders focused on macro data, oil prices, and inflation, while the US Senate advanced a measure that could force President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval for the Iran war.
Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.3 per cent to $1.36, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 0.9 per cent to $0.1034, Cardano (ADA) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $0.2499, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 0.5 per cent to $2,124.02, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.5 per cent to $84.67, TRON (TRX) dipped by 0.4 per cent to $0.3551, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 0.1 per cent to $641.39.
On the flip side, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 0.3 per cent to $77,114.20, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian bourse rebounded by 0.57 per cent on Tuesday despite weak investor sentiment triggered by a negative market breadth index after finishing with 26 price gainers and 31 price losers.
Customs Street was saved from a further decline due to buying interest in some mid and large-cap equities, which offset profit-taking in others.
It was observed that the insurance sector bled by 1.64 per cent and the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.93 per cent. However, the industrial goods space appreciated by 2.27 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.98 per cent, and the energy industry rose by 0.11 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 1,430.59 points to settle at 251,635.42 points compared with the previous day’s 250,204.83 points, and the market capitalisation chalked up N917 billion to close at N161.280 trillion versus the N160.363 trillion it ended a day earlier.
FTN Cocoa led the advancers’ chart after rising by 10.00 per cent to trade at N9.79, Zichis increased by 9.97 per cent to N29.13, SAHCO jumped by 9.79 per cent to N156.95, Caverton flew by 9.76 per cent to N6.75, and Japaul grew by 9.73 per cent to N3.72.
Conversely, Unilever Nigeria depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N153.00, Trans-Nationwide Express crashed by 9.92 per cent to N6.99, Sovereign Trust Insurance fell by 9.81 per cent to N2.39, McNichols slumped by 9.26 per cent to N7.25, and Austin Laz declined by 7.28 per cent to N4.20.
The busiest stock on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited yesterday was Access Holdings with 88.4 million units sold for N2.3 billion. Linkage Assurance transacted 46.2 million units valued at N83.5 million, Sterling Holdings traded 44.9 million units worth N349.3 million, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 35.0 million units valued at N31.6 million, and Zenith Bank sold 30.4 million units for N4.0 billion.
At the close of trades, a total of 704.0 million units worth N32.2 billion were executed in 64,539 deals versus the 800.5 million units valued at N37.1 billion traded in 87,096 deals on Monday, implying a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 12.06 per cent, 13.21 per cent, and 25.90 per cent, respectively.
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