Economy

Disappointing Retail Sales Data May Weigh on Wall Street

Published

8 years ago

15/05/2017

By Investors Hub

The major US index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Monday, as stocks appear poised to extend the lacklustre performance seen over the past several sessions.

A sharp increase by the price of crude oil may lead to strength among energy stocks after the Saudi Arabian and Russian energy ministers indicated an agreement to freeze oil output would be extended until March of 2018.

However, other stocks may come under pressure amid concerns about the impact of the WannaCry ransomware attack, which has reportedly affected 200,000 victims in 150 countries.

With traders shrugging off disappointing retail sales data, stocks turned in another relatively lackluster performance during trading on Friday. The choppy trading seen on the day extended a recent trend on Wall Street.

The major averages eventually ended the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line. The Nasdaq inched up 5.27 points or 0.1 percent to 6,121.23, but the Dow edged down 22.81 points or 0.1 percent to 20,896.61 and the S&P 500 slipped 3.54 points or 0.2 percent to 2,390.90.

Reflecting the lack of direction seen in recent sessions, the major averages also turned in a mixed performance for the week. While the Nasdaq rose by 0.3 percent, the Dow fell by 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 dipped by 0.3 percent.

The mixed close on Wall Street came following the release of a Commerce Department report showing a smaller than expected increase in retail sales in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.4 percent in April compared to economist estimates for 0.6 percent growth.

However, the report also said retail sales inched up by a revised 0.1 percent in March versus the 0.2 percent drop originally reported.

Excluding a rebound in auto sales, retail sales rose by 0.3 percent in April, matching the increase seen in the previous month as well as economist estimates.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices rebounded in line with economist estimates in the month of April.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in April after falling by 0.3 percent in March.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices inched up by 0.1 percent in April after dipping by 0.1 percent in March. Core prices had been expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan released a report showing a modest improvement in consumer sentiment in the month of May.

The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for May came in at 97.7 compared to the final April reading of 97.0. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 97.3.

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

Oil service stocks saw substantial weakness, however, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index slumping by 1.9 percent. Rowan (RDC), Diamond Offshore (DO), and Transocean (RIG) turned in some of the sector’s worst performances.

Considerable weakness was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index fell to its lowest closing level in six months.

On the other hand, biotechnology stocks showed a notable move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 1.1 percent.

Gold stocks also moved higher along with the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index climbing by 1.1 percent.

Economy

Food Concepts, Acorn Petroleum Weaken Alternative Stock Market by 0.33%

Published

8 hours ago

30/11/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Food Concepts Plc and Acorn Petroleum Plc were the catalysts that brought down the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.33 per cent on Friday, November 29.

The NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 9.94 points to wrap the session at 3,016.66 points compared with 3,026.60 points recorded in the previous session, and the OTC market capitalisation lost N3.48 billion to settle at N1.057 trillion, in contrast to the previous day’s N1.060 trillion.

Food Concepts, which is the parent company of fast food chains – Chicken Republic and PieXpress, lost 17 Kobo to settle at N1.58 per share versus the previous session’s N1.75 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc recorded a 15 Kobo depreciation to quote at N1.54 per unit, in contrast to Thursday’s closing rate of N1.69 per unit.

On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc improved its value by N2.23 to trade at N24.58 per share compared with the preceding day’s N22.35 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 5 Kobo to close at N3.95 per unit, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N3.90 per unit.

There was a decline in the volume of securities traded by investors by 85.3 per cent to 433,854 units from the 2.9 million units recorded a day earlier, the value of shares recorded during the session slid by 88.9 per cent to N876,364.63 from N7.9 million, and the number of deals increased by 25 per cent to 15 deals from the 12 deals posted a day earlier.

Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units valued at N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units sold for N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units worth N5.3 million.

Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Falls to N1,672/$1 Ahead of CBN FX Matching System Launch

Published

8 hours ago

30/11/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated against the US Dollar by 1.7 per cent or N27.83 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, November 29 as supply weakened ahead of the official unveiling of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) next week.

The exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar in the official market ended yesterday at N1,672.69/$1, in contrast to the N1,644.86/$1 it closed on Thursday.

Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions went down by 56.7 per cent or $306.24 million to $254.10 million from the $560.34 million achieved the previous day.

However, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the spot market during the trading session by N13.38 to settle at N2,111.48/£1 compared with the preceding day’s N2,124.86/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N15.61 to finish at N1,757.57/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,773.18/€1.

The CBN EFEMS initiative designed to ensure transparent, fair, and efficient FX trading, minimise counterparty risks, and enforce compliance with CBN regulations will go live on Monday, December 2.

The apex bank has pegged the minimum tradable amount at $100,000, with incremental clip sizes of $50,000 to promote transparency and efficiency in the FX market.

In the parallel market, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the US Dollar yesterday by N15 to settle at N1,735/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,750/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, Ripple (XRP) surged by 18.9 per cent the past 24 hours to finish at $1.92, extending a month-long run that has seen the price rise 200 per cent to make the token the best-performing major token alongside Dogecoin (DOGE).

Further, Litecoin (LTC) added 6.6 per cent to close at $101.96, Cardano (ADA) rose by 5.9 per cent to $1.13, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 5.4 per cent to $0.4265, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 4.2 per cent to sell at $3,697.06, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 3.7 per cent to trade at $674.85, Solana (SOL) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $244.08, and Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $96,811.57, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) fell by 0.03 per cent to $0.9999, and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00.

Economy

Nigerian Stocks Fall 0.28% as Investor Sentiment Turns Bearish

Published

9 hours ago

30/11/2024

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A 0.28 per cent loss was suffered by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday to reverse the growth achieved in the preceding session.

This was caused by profit-taking, especially in the energy sector, as its index weakened by 2.56 per cent, and the insurance counter depreciated by 1.83 per cent, while the industrial goods space slumped by 0.15 per cent.

However, the banking sector appreciated by 0.67 per cent, and the consumer goods counter improved by a marginal 0.01 per cent.

At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 276.94 points to settle at 97,506.87 points compared with the preceding day’s 97,783.81 points and the market capitalisation declined by N168 billion to finish at N59.107 trillion versus Thursday’s N59.275 trillion.

Regency Alliance lost 9.80 per cent to trade at 46 Kobo, Lasaco Assurance fell by 9.75 per cent to N2.13, Academy Press waned by 9.71 per cent to N2.79, Austin Laz declined by 9.68 per cent to N1.96, and Cornerstone Insurance depleted by 6.91 per cent to N2.56.

Conversely, Haldane McCall gained 9.54 per cent to quote at N6.20, Royal Exchange jumped by 8.77 per cent to 62 Kobo, Sovereign Trust Insurance improved by 7.35 per cent to 73 Kobo, Tantalizers rose by 5.50 per cent to N1.15, and NPF Microfinance Bank appreciated by 4.67 per cent to N1.57.

Business Post reports that FBN Holdings ended the session as the most active stock with 126.0 million units valued at N3.3 billion, Haldane McCall transacted 91.3 million units worth N521.8 million, Japaul sold 61.4 million units for N138.9 million, Tantalizers exchanged 35.7 million units valued at N40.5 million, and Sterling Holdings traded 23.8 million worth N114.5 million.

When trading activities closed for the session, the market participants bought and sold 515.5 million units of Nigerian stocks worth N15.1 billion in 7,554 deals compared with the 632.7 million units valued at N10.8 billion traded on Thursday in 8,404 deals, implying a rise in the trading value by 39.82 per cent and a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 18.52 per cent and 10.11 per cent, respectively.