Economy

Disappointing Chinese Data Weakens Asia Markets

Published

5 years ago

18/10/2019

By Investors Hub

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday, with disappointing Chinese data and uncertainty about final approval of the draft Brexit deal keeping investors nervous ahead of the weekend.

Chinese stocks saw their steepest daily drop in a month as weak GDP data raised fresh worries over the health of the world’s second-largest economy.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 39.19 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,938.14, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 128.91 points or 0.5 percent to 26,719.58.

China’s economy grew at the slowest rate in nearly three decades in the third quarter, raising pressure on policymakers to roll out more stimulus.

China’s GDP grew 6 percent year-on-year in the third quarter after rising 6.2 percent in the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said. This was the slowest growth since the early 1990s. Growth was forecast to slow marginally to 6.1 percent.

Industrial production advanced 5.8 percent annually in September after rising 4.4 percent in August and 4.8 percent in July. Output was expected to climb 4.9 percent.

Annual growth in retail sales increased to 7.8 percent, in line with expectations. During January to September, fixed asset investment grew 5.4 percent, which was slightly slower than the forecast of 5.5 percent increase.

Meanwhile, Japanese shares hit a 10-month high, with tech stocks leading the surge following upbeat earnings from Taiwan’s TSMC. Sentiment was also boosted after the government said the trade deal reached between the U.S. and Japan will boost domestic growth by about 0.8 percent.

The Nikkei 225 Index inched up 40.82 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,492.68, while the broader Topix closed 0.1 percent lower at 1,621.99 after the release of weak Chinese GDP data.

Screen Holdings, a major chip industry supplier, jumped 7.9 percent and Sumco advanced 4.3 percent. Heavyweight Fast Retailing gained 1.8 percent and Fanuc added 2.2 percent.

Japanese inflation eased to the lowest level in more than two years in September, data showed, raising pressure on the central bank to ease policy further.

Excluding fresh food, inflation eased to 0.3 percent in September from 0.5 percent in August, the statistics bureau reported. This was the lowest since April 2017 and in line with expectations.

Australian markets fell on worries over slowing global growth and skepticism over the Brexit deal. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 35 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,649.70, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 33.10 points, or 0.5 percent, at 6,758.40.

Healthcare stocks such as CSL and Cochlear fell slightly as the Aussie dollar gained ground. Banks extended losses for a second straight session, with ANZ, NAB and Westpac falling between 0.4 percent and 0.8 percent.

IOOF Holdings rallied 3.6 percent as the banking regulator stood down from appealing a Federal Court decision to dismiss its regulatory action against the wealth manager.

Energy firms Woodside Petroleum and Santos ended modestly lower, while Origin Energy fell as much as 2.5 percent.

Mining stocks ended on a mixed note. Seven West Media rose 1.3 percent after the company said it will merge with regional affiliate Prime Media Group in a A$63.8 million all-stock deal expected to be completed in January.

Shares of Southern Cross Media, which has agreed to buy Seven West’s WA radio network Redwave for A$28 million, jumped 2.3 percent.

Seoul stocks fell as worries about slowing growth in China overshadowed optimism from a Brexit deal between the U.K. and the European Union. The Kospi dropped 17.25 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,060.69.

Economy

FAAC Disburses 1.727trn to FG, States Local Councils in December 2024

Published

21 hours ago

14/12/2024

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local government areas have received N1.727 trillion from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for December 2024.

The funds were disbursed to the three tiers of government from the revenue generated by the nation in November 2024.

At the December meeting of FAAC held in Abuja, it was stated that the amount distributed comprised distributable statutory revenue of N455.354 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N585.700 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N15.046 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N671.392 billion.

According to a statement signed on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations for FAAC, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the money generated last month was about N3.143 trillion, with N103.307 billion used for cost of collection and N1.312 trillion for transfers, interventions and refunds.

It was disclosed that gross statutory revenue of N1.827 trillion was received compared with the N1.336 trillion recorded a month earlier.

The statement said gross revenue of N628.972 billion was available from VAT versus N668.291 billion in the preceding month.

The organisation stated that last month, oil and gas royalty and CET levies recorded significant increases, while excise duty, VAT, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and EMTL decreased considerably.

As for the sharing, FAAC disclosed that from the N1.727 trillion, the central government got N581.856 billion, the states received N549.792 billion, the councils took N402.553 billion, while the benefiting states got N193.291 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

From the N585.700 billion VAT earnings, the national government got N87.855 billion, the states received N292.850 billion and the local councils were given N204.995 billion.

Also, from the N455.354 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government was given N175.690 billion, the states got N89.113 billion, the local governments had N68.702 billion, and the benefiting states received N121.849 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

In addition, from the N15.046 billion EMTL revenue, FAAC shared N2.257 billion to the federal government, disbursed N7.523 billion to the states and transferred N5.266 billion to the local councils.

Further, from the N671.392 billion Exchange Difference earnings, it gave central government N316.054 billion, the states N160.306 billion, the local government areas N123.590 billion, and the oil-producing states N71.442 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

Economy

Okitipupa Plc, Two Others Lift Unlisted Securities Market by 0.65%

Published

1 day ago

14/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.

On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.

Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.

At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.

In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Trades N1,533/$1 at Official Market, N1,650/$1 at Parallel Market

Published

1 day ago

14/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.

The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.

The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.

The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.

Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.

In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.