Economy
Bargain Hunting May Contribute to Rebound of US Equities
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to regain ground following the steep drop seen over the course of the two previous sessions.
Bargain hunting may contribute to initial strength on Wall Street as traders look to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the sell-off seen early this week.
Upbeat earnings news from companies like Foot Locker (FL), BJ?s Wholesale (BJ), and Autodesk (ADSK) may also contribute to the rebound.
Buying interest may be somewhat subdued, however, as the Commerce Department recently released a report showing a much steeper than expected drop in durable goods orders in October.
Traders may also look to get a head start on the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, leading to below average trading activity.
Following the sell-off seen on Monday, stocks showed another significant move to the downside during trading on Tuesday. With the continued drop, the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell to its lowest closing level in over seven months.
The major averages ended the session off their worst levels of the day but still sharply lower. The Dow plunged 551.80 points or 2.2 percent to 24,465.64, the Nasdaq tumbled 119.65 points or 1.7 percent to 6,908.82 and the S&P 500 slumped 48.84 points or 1.8 percent to 2,641.89.
The continued weakness on Wall Street partly reflected a negative reaction to the latest batch of earnings news from companies such as Target (TGT).
Shares of Target plummeted by 10.5 percent after the retail giant reported third quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates on slightly weaker than expected comparable store sales growth.
Department store operator Kohl’s (KSS) and Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands (LB) also posted steep losses after reporting their quarterly results.
A continued decline by Apple (AAPL) also weighed on the markets, with the tech giant tumbling by 4.8 percent to a six-month closing low.
On the U.S. economic front, a report from the Commerce Department showed housing starts rebounded in the month of October, although the report also showed a decrease in building permits.
The Commerce Department said housing starts jumped by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.228 million in October after plunging by 5.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.210 million in September.
Economists had expected housing starts to climb to a rate of 1.225 million from the 1.201 million originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said building permits fell by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.263 million in October after surging up by 1.7 percent to an upwardly revised 1.270 million in September.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to increase to 1.267 million from the 1.241 million originally reported for the previous month.
Energy stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.
Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plummeted by 5.7 percent, while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index plunged by 3.9 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.
Considerable weakness was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 3.9 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The steep drop reflected concerns about the outlook for global demand.
Transportation, retail, telecom and financial stocks also saw significant weakness, reflecting another broad based sell-off on Wall Street.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested three price decliners to lift the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.05 per cent on Thursday, July 16.
The securities depository company gained N2.29 during the trading day to close at N92.64 per share compared with the previous day’s price of N90.35 per share.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse grew by N1.42 billion to N2.592 trillion from N2.590 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 2.36 points to 4,318.87 points from 4,316.51 points.
The three price losers yesterday were led by 11 Plc, which shed N10.00 to end at N240.00 per unit versus Wednesday’s closing value of N250.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N2.34 to finish at N147.66 per share compared with the N150.00 per share it closed at midweek, and Food Concepts Plc depleted by 7 Kobo to settle at N2.42 per unit, in contrast to the preceding day’s N2.49 per unit.
A look at the activity chart showed that during the session, the value of transactions soared by 43.3 per cent to N104.1 million from the preceding session’s N65.2 million, and the number of deals jumped by 39.3 per cent to 39 deals from the 28 deals completed a day earlier, while the volume of trades contracted by 75.7 per cent to 1.2 million units from 4.8 million units.
When trading activities ended for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc led the activity chart as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 74.9 million units exchanged for N5.3 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 worth 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 further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, July 16, by 65 Kobo or 0.04 per cent to sell for N1,381.53/$1, in contrast to Wednesday’s closing value of N1,382.18/$1.
This was buoyed by improved FX liquidity to absorb the high demand for Dollars during the trading session.
However, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N9.48 to close at N1,866.17/£1 versus the preceding day’s N1,856.69/£1, and lost N2.99 against the Euro to quote at N1,582.68/€1 compared with the midweek rate of N1,576.69/€1.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian currency maintained stability against its United States counterpart at N1,405/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it remained unchanged at N1,389/$1.
On Thursday, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed a surge in interbank FX turnover and deal count. Interbank FX activities at the NFEM window increased sharply by 69 per cent to $205.366 million from $121.727 million reported the previous day.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves continue to rise, supported by steady foreign exchange inflows from hydrocarbon receipts, remittances and foreign portfolio investments, boosting market confidence. It settled at $51.893 billion from $51.867 billion the previous day.
The apex bank has also launched a new digital platform that will track every foreign exchange transaction involving Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, marking a major step in its efforts to improve transparency and strengthen oversight of Nigeria’s retail forex market.
In an operational guidance issued on July 15 to authorised dealer banks and licensed BDCs, the CBN introduced the FX BDC Purchase Tracker (FXBT), a centralised electronic portal that will monitor foreign exchange purchases by BDCs from the point of request through approval, settlement and eventual sale.
As for the crypto market, prices were down as the markets weighed fresh US airstrikes on Iran that boosted risk sentiment, with Ethereum (ETH) down by 4.7 per cent to $1,829.37.
Solana (SOL) decreased by 3.6 per cent to $77.49, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 3.1 per cent to $0.0718, Cardano (ADA) also crashed by 3.1 per cent to $0.1588, Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 2.9 per cent to $62,820.21, Ripple (XRP) dipped by 2.6 per cent to $1.08, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 2.3 per cent to $569.02, and TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.8 per cent to $0.3219, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In a bid to help investors recover about N270 billion in unclaimed dividends in the capital market, a nationwide enlightenment campaign has been launched by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This initiative involves town hall meetings that would go around the country to sensitise Nigerians on the need to claim these fallow funds.
The Director General of SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, speaking at a town hall meeting in Lagos, said the regulator is not happy that investors, who worked hard to purchase shares in the stock market, have not claimed their profits for many years, making unclaimed dividends pile up.
“The commission considers this situation unacceptable. Funds belonging to investors should ultimately find their way back to their rightful owners,” the SEC chief, represented at the event by the Director of Registration and Exchanges, Market Infrastructure Department, Ms Hafsat Rufai, stated.
He said during this campaign Nigerians would be informed of the unclaimed monies, the role of the National Investor Protection Fund (NIPF), and the procedures for verifying and recovering legitimate claims, stressing that SEC is committed to ensuring that investors’ funds are returned to their rightful owners.
The DG stated that unclaimed monies administered by the NIPF include return funds from public offers, scheme consideration arising from mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring transactions, as well as other capital market-related funds that have remained dormant.
He disclosed that the town hall meetings would be held in the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.
In addition, electronic and social media platforms would be used to broaden public awareness on this issue, with efforts to be made to address the transmission of securities following the death of an investor, noting that many families were either unaware that their deceased relatives owned shares or lacked knowledge of the legal and administrative procedures required to transfer such investments to rightful beneficiaries.
“As a result, valuable investments and returns on investments sometimes remain inaccessible for many years, thereby denying beneficiaries the financial benefits intended for them,” he said, urging investors to maintain proper records of their investments and encouraging families to take proactive steps to preserve inherited wealth.
