Economy

Disappointing Caterpillar Earnings Weigh on Wall Street

Published

7 years ago

28/01/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a notably lower opening on Monday, with stocks likely to come under pressure after ending last week?s trading roughly flat.

A negative reaction to earnings news from Caterpillar (CAT) is likely to weigh on the markets, with the heavy equipment maker slumping by 5.8 percent in pre-market trading.

The drop by Caterpillar comes after the company reported weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings and forecast full-year 2019 earnings below analyst estimates.

Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby said the outlook ?assumes a modest sales increase based on the fundamentals of our diverse end markets as well as the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.?

Early trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to key events later this week, including the release of the Labor Department?s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

The Federal Reserve?s monetary policy decision on Wednesday is also likely to attract attention, although the central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged after last month?s rate hike.

Traders are also likely to watch closely for any news regarding a new round of trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials in Washington this week.

Following the volatility seen over the two previous sessions, stocks moved significantly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages all climbed firmly into positive territory after ending Thursday’s trading mixed.

While the major averages pulled back off their highs of the session, the Dow and the Nasdaq still ended the day at their best closing levels in well over a month.

The Dow climbed 183.96 points or 0.8 percent to 24,737.20, the Nasdaq jumped 91.40 points or 1.3 percent to 7,164.86 and the S&P 500 advanced 22.43 points or 0.9 percent to 2,664.76.

For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow and the Nasdaq both inched up by 0.1 percent, while the S&P 500 edged down by 0.2 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly said the U.S. and China are making “a lot of progress” in trade talks.

A report from Reuters said Mnuchin is looking forward to a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He next week, which will also include discussions on currency issues.

The comments from Mnuchin conflict with remarks by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who told CNBC on Thursday the U.S. is “miles and miles” from a trade deal with China.

“Frankly, that shouldn’t be too surprising,” Ross said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” noting the U.S. and China have “lots and lots of issues.”

Stocks remained firmly positive as President Donald Trump announced an agreement to end the record-setting government shutdown.

Trump revealed in a speech from the White House rose garden that lawmakers will vote later today on legislation to fund the shuttered parts of the government until February 15th.

The bill will not include money for Trump’s controversial border wall, which was the issue that led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Trump indicated that the three weeks of funding provided by the legislation would give lawmakers time to negotiate on the contentious issue of border security.

“Many disagree, but I really feel that, working with Democrats and Republicans, we can make a truly great and secure deal happen for everyone,” Trump said.

With the announcement, Trump seemed to give in to Democratic demands to re-open the government before negotiating on border security.

However, if an agreement on border security is not reached by February 15th, Trump suggested the government could shut down again or he could declare the situation on the border a national emergency.

Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.8 percent. The rally by gold stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal.

Considerable strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 3.5 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Hard drive maker Western Digital (WDC) posted a standout gain after reporting fiscal second quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates but forecasting stronger second half sales.

Oil service stocks also moved notably higher amid an increase by the price of crude oil, resulting in a 3.1 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

Semiconductor, steel, and chemical stocks also saw significant strength on the day, while utilities stocks were among the few groups to buck the uptrend.

Economy

Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange

Published

15 hours ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.

The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.

During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed 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.

Economy

Cautious Trading, Profit-taking Weaken Nigeria’s Stock Exchange by 0.66%

Published

15 hours ago

27/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.

This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.

Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.

Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.

The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.

As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.

Economy

Official FX Market Sees Naira Dip to N1,380.93/$1

Published

15 hours ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.

Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.

Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.

Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.

If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.

At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.

On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.