Economy

Currency Markets in Focus Amid Escalating Trade War

Published

7 years ago

07/08/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to move back to the downside following yesterday’s notable rebound.

The downward momentum on Wall Street comes as the escalating U.S.-China trade war has investors paying close attention to daily developments on the currency front.

The People’s Bank of China set the midpoint for onshore yuan trading at 6.9996 per dollar, slightly stronger than the key 7.00 per dollar level but 0.4 percent weaker than 6.9683 on Tuesday.

The Chinese central bank setting the midpoint for the Chinese currency at a stronger than expected level contributed yesterday’s rally.

Negative sentiment may also be generated in reaction to disappointing earnings from Disney (DIS), with the entertainment giant slumping by nearly 5 percent in pre-market trading.

After the close of trading on Tuesday, Disney reported fiscal third quarter results that missed analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as another light day on the U.S. economic front may keep some traders on the sidelines.

The economic calendar remains relatively sparse throughout the week, although a report on producer price inflation may attract attention on Friday.

Following the sell-off seen on Monday, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Tuesday. The major averages fluctuated after an early upward move but maintained a positive bias throughout the session.

The major averages finished the session near their best levels of the day. The Dow jumped 311.78 points or 1.2 percent to 26,029.52, the Nasdaq soared 107.23 points or 1.4 percent to 7,833.27 and the S&P 500 surged up 37.03 points or 1.3 percent to 2,881.77.

The strength on Wall Street was partly due to bargain hunting, with traders picking up stocks at reduced levels after the major averages ended Monday’s trading at their lowest closing levels in two months.

News the People’s Bank of China set the midpoint for the Chinese currency at a stronger than expected level also helped ease investor jitters.

A recent drop in the value of the Chinese yuan further fueled speculation Beijing is devaluing its currency to counter President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat.

After refusing to do so several times in the past, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin officially declared China a currency manipulator on Monday.

The Treasury Department said Mnuchin will subsequently engage with the International Monetary Fund to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions.

In a tweet this morning seemingly aimed at calming the markets, Trump claimed, “Massive amounts of money from China and other parts of the world is pouring into the United States for reasons of safety, investment, and interest rates!”

“We are in a very strong position. Companies are also coming to the U.S. in big numbers. A beautiful thing to watch!” he added.

Telecom stocks showed a significant move to the upside after falling sharply over the past few sessions, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index jumping by 2 percent after ending Monday’s trading at its lowest closing level in well over two months.

Significant strength also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The index bounced off a two-month closing low.

Software, healthcare, retail and utilities stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Meanwhile, energy stocks bucked the uptrend, as the price of crude oil showed another steep drop amid concerns about the outlook for global energy demand.

Economy

Stock Market Gains N2.367trn as All-Share Index Rises 2.06%

Published

52 minutes ago

14/02/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited appreciated by 2.06 per cent on Friday, amid a rush for local equities due to encouraging earnings of companies for 2025.

Business Post reports that the buying pressure was across the key sectors of Customs Street yesterday, with the banking index growing by 2.49 per cent. The energy industry appreciated by 2.05 per cent, the consumer goods counter grew by 0.78 per cent, the insurance space improved by 0.64 per cent, and the industrial goods sector expanded by 0.44 per cent.

At the close of trades, the market capitalisation went up by N2.367 trillion to N117.027 trillion from N114.660 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 3,687.45 points to close at 182,313.08 points compared with the previous day’s 178,625.63 points.

Cornerstone Insurance, Infinity Trust, and Nestle Nigeria appreciated by 10.00 per cent each to sell at N6.38, N9.90 and N2,662.00, respectively, while Okomu Oil rose by 9.99 per cent to N1,327.00, with RT Briscoe up by 9.97 per cent to N17.42.

Conversely, SAHCO depleted by 10.00 per cent to M135.00, Guinness Nigeria lost 9.97 per cent to trade at N103.00, Omatek shrank by 9.39 per cent to N2.99, NPF Microfinance Bank decreased by 6.51 per cent to N5.60, and eTranzact slipped by 6.33 per cent to N10.80.

A total of 53 stocks ended in the green side and 33 stocks finished in the red side, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

Data showed that 936.4 million shares valued at N52.7 billion were transacted in 50,068 deals on Friday versus the 698.3 million shares worth N28.438 billion traded in 50,886 deals on Thursday, indicating a rise in the trading volume and value by 34.10 per cent, and 85.56 per cent apiece, and a slip in the number of deals by 1.61 per cent.

First Holdco closed the session as the most active equity with 106.3 million units worth N5.1 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 72.6 million units valued at N5.7 billion, United Capital traded 45.4 million units for N963.2 million, GTCO sold 45.0 million units worth N4.9 billion, and Fidelity Bank exchanged 31.4 million units valued at N639.0 million.

Economy

OTC Securities Exchange Extends Positive Run by 0.86%

Published

2 hours ago

14/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose further by 0.86 per cent on Friday, February 13, with the market capitalisation growing by N20.27 billion to N2.378 trillion from the previous session’s N2.357 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rising by 33.87 points to 3,974.77 points from the 3,940.90 points it ended a day earlier.

The improvement recorded by the bourse yesterday was influenced by six price gainers led by Okitipupa Plc, which went up by N18.00 to sell at N260.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N242.00 per share.

Further, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N3.39 to quote at N80.47 per unit versus N77.08 per unit, IPWA Plc chalked by 31 Kobo to finish at N3.44 per share versus N3.13 per share, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc gained 31 Kobo to settle at N3.41 per unit versus N3.10 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by 31 Kobo to N16.51 per share from N16.20 per share, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 8 Kobo to N3.28 per unit from N3.20 per unit.

There were three price losers, led by MRS Oil Plc, which weakened by N10.00 to close at N170.00 per share compared with Thursday’s price of N200.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N2.59 to sell for N65.52 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N68.10 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 33 Kobo to N3.30 per share from N3.63 per share.

During the session, the volume of securities transacted by the market participants went up by 9.5 per cent to 9.4 million units from 8.6 million units, the value increased by 1,206.5 per cent to N703.6 million from N53.9 million, and the number of deals grew by 7.1 per cent to 45 deals from 42 deals.

CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 27.1 million units exchanged for N1.5 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.05 billion units traded at N408.6 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 29.9 million units valued at N152.6 million.

Resourcery Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units sold for N408.6 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 29.9 million worth N152.6 million, and CSCS Plc with 27.1 million units sold for N1.5 billion.

Economy

Naira Value Further Dips 0.13% to N1,355/$1

Published

2 hours ago

14/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated further against the United States Dollar by N1.76 or 0.13 per cent on Friday in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to close at N1,33.42/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.66/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.

However, the Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday by N5.05 to trade at N1,844.59 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,849.64/£1, and against the Euro, it improved by 75 Kobo to quote at N1,60/€1 versus the previous day’s N1,608.68/€1.

At the GTBank FX desk, the domestic currency lost N6 on the US Dollar on Friday to settle at N1,365/$1 versus the preceding session’s N1,359/$1, and at the parallel market, it chalked up N10 to trade at N1,430/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,430/$1.

The weakening of the Nigerian currency in the official market happened as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) refrained from intervening in the official window.

The FX supply side was eclipsed by growing demand for foreign payments. Exporters’ inflows, non-bank corporate supply, and other market participants’ contributions had enhanced the FX liquidity level.

Pressure came with the entry of all duly licensed Bureau De Change (BDCs) into the official foreign exchange, although there are indications that the move will help the Naira-US Dollar exchange value, as BDC operators have started approaching their banks to understand the operational modalities and framework for accessing Dollars.

As for the cryptocurrency market, benchmarked tokens improved as US interest rate futures on Friday raised odds of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve after a report that showed inflation rose less than expected in January.

Data showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 per cent last month after an unrevised 0.3 per cent gain in December, with Solana (SOL) up by 7.9 per cent to $85.17, and Ethereum (ETH) up by 6.5 per cent to trade at $2,059.78.

Further, Cardano (ADA) added 5.3 per cent to close at $0.2758, Ripple (XRP) jumped 5.1 per cent to $1.42, Bitcoin expanded by 4.8 per cent to $69,357.35, Litecoin (LTC) grew by 4.7 per cent to $55.27, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 4.0 per cent to $621.88, and Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 3.8 per cent to $0.0965, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.