Economy
Corporate Earnings News Remains in Spotlight on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a modestly lower opening on Friday following the mixed performance seen in the previous session.
A mixed batch of earnings news may contribute to choppy trading on Wall Street as traders react to the latest quarterly results from several big-name companies.
Shares of Intel (INTC) are moving notably higher in pre-market trading after the semiconductor giant released its third quarter results.
Intel reported better than expected quarterly results, raised its full-year revenue guidance, and added $20 billion to its stock repurchase program.
Telecom giant Verizon (VZ) may also move to the upside after reporting third quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, shares of Amazon (AMZN) are likely to come under pressure, with the online retail giant slumping by 6.3 percent in pre-market trading.
The drop by Amazon comes after the company reported weaker than expected third quarter earnings and provided a disappointing forecast for holiday sales.
Strength among tech stocks contributed to a notable advance by the Nasdaq, although the Dow and the S&P 500 spent most of Thursday’s session lingering near the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the day mixed, as the Dow closed modestly lower. While the Dow edged down 28.42 points or 0.1 percent to 26,805.51, the Nasdaq climbed 66.00 points or 0.8 percent to 8,185.80 and the S&P 500 rose 5.77 points or 0.2 percent to 3,010.29.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq benefited from a positive reaction to earnings news Microsoft (MSFT), with the software giant climbing by 2 percent.
After the close of trading on Wednesday, Microsoft reported quarterly results that exceeded analyst estimates, boosted by cloud and Office revenues.
Electric car maker Tesla (TSLA) also posted a standout gain on the day after reporting an unexpected third quarter profit.
Meanwhile, shares of Twitter (TWTR) came under pressure after the social media giant reported weaker than expected third quarter results and provided disappointing guidance.
A steep drop by shares of 3M (MMM) weighed on the day after the diversified manufacturer reported third quarter earnings that beat estimates but lowered its full-year earnings outlook.
Traders were also digesting a slew of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Commerce Department showing a steep drop in orders for transportation equipment contributed to a bigger than expected decrease in durable goods orders in September.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders tumbled by 1.1 percent in September after rising by a revised 0.3 percent in August.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to decline by 0.8 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick that had been reported for the previous month.
Excluding the nosedive in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders dipped by 0.3 percent in September after climbing by 0.3 percent in August. Ex-transportation orders had expected to edge down by 0.2 percent.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed new home sales pulled back in September after a sharp increase in the previous month.
The report said new home sales slid by 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 701,000 in September after spiking by 6.2 percent to a revised rate of 706,000 in August.
Economists had expected slump by 1.7 percent to a rate of 701,000 from the 713,000 originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a report showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended October 19th.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 212,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 218,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000 from the 214,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Gold stocks moved sharply higher over the course of trading session, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.4 percent. The spike by gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.
Significant strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, which rebounded after falling sharply in the previous session. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged up by 2.5 percent after tumbling by 1.9 percent on Wednesday.
The upbeat earnings news from Microsoft also contributed to a rally by software stocks, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index jumping by 2.2 percent.
On the other hand, oil service stocks saw substantial weakness on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 1.6 percent. The sell-off came despite an increase by the price of crude oil.
Networking stocks also showed a notable move to the downside, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index falling by 1.5 percent.
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.
By Dipo Olowookere
The decision of investors to book profit after the previous session’s gains pulled back Customs Street by 0.09 per cent on Thursday.
The selling pressure was mainly on BUA Cement, which put the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited off-balance during the session.
Analysis of the trading data showed that the industrial goods sector was the sole decliner, losing 2.85 per cent, as a result of the poor performance of BUA Cement at the market yesterday.
The other key sectors of the bourse were bullish, with the banking space up by 2.87 per cent. The consumer goods index appreciated by 0.30 per cent, the insurance counter improved by 0.16 per cent, and the energy segment rose by 0.08 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 221.14 points to 242,145.61 points from 242,366.75 points, and the market capitalisation decreased by N32 billion to N156.207 trillion from N156.239 trillion.
Eunisell crashed by 10.00 per cent to N189.00, BUA Cement lost 9.99 per cent to quote at N275.60, CAP declined by 9.61 per cent to N142.45, Royal Exchange slipped by 9.55 per cent to N1.42, and Guinea Insurance tumbled by 5.38 per cent to 88 Kobo.
Conversely, First Holdco soared by 9.96 per cent to N87.25, McNichols gained 8.00 per cent to trade at N5.40, UBA appreciated by 7.93 per cent to N44.25, Veritas Kapital jumped by 6.85 per cent to N1.56, and Jaiz Bank chalked up 4.07 per cent to settle at N8.95.
It was observed that the market breadth index was positive after the exchange closed the session with 22 price losers and 27 price gainers, representing strong investor sentiment.
A total of 498.5 million shares valued at N34.9 billion were traded in 39,484 deals on Thursday, in contrast to the 476.3 million shares worth N29.6 billion transacted in 40,992 deals on Wednesday. This indicated that the trading volume grew by 4.66 per cent, the trading value increased by 17.91 per cent, and the number of deals depreciated by 3.68 per cent.
Japaul ended the day as the busiest equity after trading 77.7 million units for N231.5 million, Access Holdings sold 41.2 million units valued at N1.0 billion, First Holdco exchanged 38.8 million units worth N3.4 billion, UBA transacted 31.5 million units for N1.4 billion, and Fidelity Bank traded 23.8 million units worth N495.0 million.
