Economy

Disappointing Home Depot Sales May Weigh on Wall Street

Published

8 years ago

15/05/2018

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to give back ground after trending higher in recent sessions.

The downward momentum on Wall Street comes as traders react to earnings news from home improvement retailer Home Depot (HD).

Shares of Home Depot are moving notably lower in pre-market trading after the company reported first quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but weaker than expected sales. Despite this, when comparing Home Depot vs. Lowes, Home Depot continues to showcase positive strengths.

After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading session on Monday. The major averages pulled back well off their best levels of the day but managed to close in positive territory.

The major averages ended the day modestly higher. The Dow rose 68.24 points or 0.3 percent to 24,889.41, the Nasdaq inched up 8.43 points or 0.1 percent at 7,411.32 and the S&P 500 crept up 2.41 points or 0.1 percent to 2,730.13.

The early strength on Wall Street came amid easing trade tensions ahead of a second round of trade talks between the U.S. and China this week.

Ahead of the meeting, President Donald Trump indicated in a post on Twitter that he is working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to get Chinese telecom giant ZTE Corp. “back into business, fast.”

“President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast,” Trump tweeted. “Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!”

ZTE has been crippled by a ban on U.S. supplies to its business, and sources briefed on the matter told Reuters that China has demanded the issue be resolved as a prerequisite for broader trade negotiations.

In a subsequent tweet, Trump expressed optimism about trade talks with China despite claiming past negotiations have been one-sided in favor of Beijing.

“China and the United States are working well together on trade, but past negotiations have been so one sided in favor of China, for so many years, that it is hard for them to make a deal that benefits both countries,” Trump tweeted. “But be cool, it will all work out!”

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, with some traders reluctant to continue buying stocks amid a lack of major U.S. economic data.

Reports on retail sales, homebuilder confidence, housing starts, and industrial production are likely to attract attention in the coming days.

Natural gas stocks saw considerable strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index climbing by 1.7 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in over three months.

The advance by natural gas stocks came amid an increase by the price of the commodity, as natural gas rose $0.036 to $2.842 per million BTUs.

Significant strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) posted a standout gain after a report from Bloomberg said Chinese regulators have restarted their review of Qualcomm’s (QCOM) application to acquire the chipmaker.

Biotechnology, telecom, and oil stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while real estate stocks moved to the downside.

Economy

NASD Investors Lose N7.51bn After Index Sheds 0.30%

Published

4 minutes ago

14/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.30 per cent on Wednesday, May 13, extending the presence of the bourse in red.

During the session, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) depreciated by 12.55 points to close at 4,143.97 points compared with the previous day’s 4,156.52 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N7.51 billion to settle at N2.479 trillion versus Tuesday’s closing value of N2.486 trillion.

The loss recorded yesterday occurred as the platform ended with four price gainers and four price losers.

Nipco Plc lost N34.40 to sell at N309.60 per share versus N344.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N4.00 to N72.00 per unit from N76.00 per unit, NASD Plc tumbled by N2.36 to N35.00 per share from N37.36 per share, and Food Concepts Plc dipped by 24 Kobo to quote at N2.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N2.50 per unit.

Conversely, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc rose by N12.74 to N146.34 per share from N133.60 per share, IPWA Plc soared by 73 Kobo to N8.03 per unit from N7.30 per unit, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc added 20 Kobo to finish at N2.52 per share versus its previous value of N2.32 per share, and Light House Financial Service Plc gained 8 Kobo to close at 94 Kobo per unit versus 86 Kobo per unit.

Yesterday, the volume of securities slumped by 48.3 per cent to 1.4 million units from 2.7 million units, the value of securities dropped 43.6 per cent to N36.8 million from N65.2 million, and the number of deals stumbled by 16.1 per cent to 36 deals from 31 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.6 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units transacted for N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Rebounds 0.37% to N1,370/$1 at NAFEX

Published

13 minutes ago

14/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira ended its recent losing streak with a N5.06 or 0.37 per cent appreciation on Wednesday, May 13, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), trading at N1,370.56/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,375.62/$1.

In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N21.43 to N1,87/£1 from N1,874.42/£1, and gained N16.12 against the Euro to close at N1,605.19/€1 versus N1,621.31/€1.

However, at the GTBank FX desk, it lost N8 against the greenback at midweek to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,375/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.

The improvement in the value of the Naira comes as Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with buffers to support the Naira and meet external obligations, also recorded a fresh accretion.

Data published on the apex bank’s website showed that reserves rose by about $150 million or 0.2 per cent to $48.48 billion as of May 12, 2026, from $48.33 billion recorded on May 5, 2026.

Interbank turnover also climbed significantly by 75.31 per cent to $130.55 million on Wednesday compared to $74.47 million recorded the previous day. At the same time, the volume of transactions rose by 25 per cent to 130 deals on Wednesday from 104 deals recorded on Tuesday.

A look at the cryptocurrency market indicated that inflation surprises and renewed geopolitical tension over Taiwan weakened risk sentiment.

The sell pressure built around the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, the first visit to China by a sitting US president in nearly a decade. Mr Xi pressed Mr Trump on Taiwan in their first meeting at the Great Hall of the People, warning of a potential “collision or even clashes” if the issue is mishandled.

China’s readout of Mr Xi’s remarks appeared to be released before the meeting had concluded, pushing the self-ruled island into the spotlight and rattling risk sentiment globally.

Solana (SOL) crashed by 4.3 per cent to $91.12, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 2.6 per cent to $0.2656, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 1.6 per cent to $1.43, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 1.5 per cent to $79,773.30, Ethereum (ETH) tumbled by 1.3 per cent to $2,266.06, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.2 per cent to $669.40.

But Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 2.5 per cent to $0.1146, and TRON (TRX) improved by 0.4 per cent to $0.3505, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Records Marginal 0.04% Rise

Published

24 minutes ago

14/05/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited cemented its position in the green territory on Wednesday with a marginal 0.04 per cent rise.

This was buoyed by sustained buying pressure on energy equities despite selling pressure on financial stocks, according to data from Customs Street.

The insurance counter was down by 0.73 per cent yesterday, and the banking index shed 0.70 per cent. These losses were offset by gains in the three other key sectors of the bourse, with the energy segment rising by 3.37 per cent. The consumer goods space appreciated by 1.94 per cent, and the industrial goods industry expanded by 0.43 per cent.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 349.96 points to 252,508.19 points from 252,158.23 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N226 billion to N161.839 trillion from N161.613 trillion.

A total of 42 stocks appreciated during the session, while 29 stocks depreciated, implying a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

The quartet of CWG, DAAR Communications, Fidson, and Livestock Feeds gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N23.10, N1.87, N113.00, and N10.45, respectively, while Berger Paints rose by 9.97 per cent to N140.10.

On the flip side, NCR Nigeria lost 10.00 per cent to close at N179.10, Zichis decreased by 9.99 per cent to N36.32, First Holdco shed 9.87 per cent to trade at N71.20, Neimeth dropped 9.66 per cent to N172.00, and Eterna eased by 9.59 per cent to N33.00.

At midweek, investors transacted 1.9 billion shares for N118.1 billion in 76,557 deals compared with the 2.0 billion shares worth N87.7 billion traded in 80,888 deals on Tuesday.

This showed that the value of transactions surged by 34.66 per cent, the volume of trades went down by 5.00 per cent, and the number of deals declined by 5.35 per cent.