Economy
Economic Data, Earnings News In Focus On Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Friday following the strong upward move seen in the previous session.
Early trading is likely to be impacted by reaction to closely watched reports on retail sales and consumer prices as well as earnings news from financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC).
Stocks moved notably higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday, more than offsetting the modest pullback seen on Wednesday. With the upward move, the major averages climbed to new record closing highs.
The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow jumped 205.60 points or 0.8 percent to 25,574.73, the Nasdaq advanced 58.21 points or 0.8 percent to 7,211.78 and the S&P 500 climbed 19.33 points or 0.7 percent to 2,767.56.
The rebound on Wall Street was partly due to easing concerns about treasuries after China dismissed a Bloomberg News report that officials have recommended slowing or halting purchases of U.S. debt.
“The news could quote the wrong source of information, or may be fake news,” China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange said, according to Reuters.
The SAFE said China has been diversifying its foreign currency reserves investments to help “safeguard the overall safety of foreign exchange assets and preserve and increase their value.”
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Labor Department showing another unexpected increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 261,000 in the week ended January 6th, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 250,000.
The modest increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected initial jobless claims to edge down to 245,000.
A separate report from the Labor Department unexpectedly showed a modest decrease in producer prices in the month of December.
The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand edged down by 0.1 percent in December after climbing by 0.4 percent in November. Economists had expected prices to rise by 0.2 percent.
Excluding food and energy prices, core producer prices still dipped by 0.1 percent in December following a 0.3 percent increase in November. Core prices had also been expected to tick up by 0.2 percent.
Airline stocks showed a particularly strong move to the upside on the day, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The NYSE Arca Airline Index surged up by 3.9 percent to its best closing level in nearly six months.
Within the airline sector, Delta Air Lines (DAL) posted a notable gain after beating fourth quarter expectations and raising its 2018 earnings guidance.
Significant strength was also visible among energy stocks, which benefited from a continued increase by the price of crude oil.
Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the Natural Gas Index jumped by 2.4 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index advanced by 1.9 percent.
Steel, trucking, housing and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
By Adedapo Adesanya
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria led the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange to a 0.03 per cent growth on Friday, June 20.
During the session, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 24.15 points to close at 3,320.91 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 3,319.78 points while the market capitalisation added N670 million to finish at N1.944 trillion compared with the N1.943 trillion quoted at the preceding session.
Business Post reports that the share price of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was up by 34 Kobo yesterday to N69.38 per unit from N69.04 per unit.
In the final trading day of the week, the volume of securities decreased by 14.9 per cent to 223,039 units from the 262,134 units traded a day earlier, but the value of securities soared by 233.2 per cent to N15.2 million from N4.6 million, and the number of deals slumped by 16 per cent to 21 deals from 25 deals.
At the close of transactions, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 536.9 million units sold for N524.7 million, followed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million units valued at N4.2 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 268.5 million units worth N475.8 million.
Okitipupa Plc was also the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.7 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million units traded at N4.2 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 40.5 million units sold for N1.7 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira improved its value against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, June 19 amid forex liquidity strain.
During the trading session, the domestic currency gained N2.84 or 0.18 per cent against the greenback in the official market to settle at N1,547.71/$1, in contrast to the N1,550.55/$1 traded in the previous day.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira gained N2.76 against the Pound Sterling at NAFEM yesterday to quote at N2,081..36/£1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N2,084.12/£1 and closed flat against the Euro to finish at N1,799.35/€1.
Also, in the parallel market, the Naira appreciated against the Dollar on Friday by N5 to sell for N1,580/$1 compared with the N1,585/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
This week, the Naira performed well due to continued investor confidence and market optimism boosted by better non-oil exports over the last few months and offshore FX inflows, which eased forex pressure.
In the week, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased further to 22.97 per cent in May 2025 from the 23.71 per cent recorded in April 2025.
In addition, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) signalled that the health of the country’s banking system was okay amid fears of dividend pause for banks facing possible distress.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market turned bearish on Friday following escalating geopolitical tensions — triggered by Israel launching airstrikes on Iran last Thursday — caused cryptos to drop.
The tensions have only been mounting since, with US President Donald Trump calling for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and threatening Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Ethereum (ETH) lost 3.8 per cent to sell at $2,424.38, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.5 per cent to close at $140.31, Dogecoin (DOGE) slumped by 2.8 per cent to $0.1630, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 1.3 per cent to trade at $0.5836.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 1.1 per cent to close at $103,555.63, Ripple (XRP) went down by 0.6 per cent to $2.12, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 0.6 per cent to $83.97, and Binance Coin (BNB) slid by 0.3 per cent to $643.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market closed lower on Friday after the United States imposed new Iran-related sanctions, marking a diplomatic approach that raised the possibility of a negotiated agreement, with Brent losing $1.84 or 2.33 per cent to trade at $77.01 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declining by 21 cents or 0.28 per cent to quote at $74.93 per barrel.
The administration of President Donald Trump issued fresh Iran-related sanctions, including on two entities based in Hong Kong, and counter-terrorism-related sanctions a day after he said it could take two weeks to decide the involvement of his country in the Israel-Iran conflict.
According to a notice, an escalation of the conflict in such a way that Israel attacks export infrastructure or Iran disrupts shipping through the strait could lead to oil at being traded at $100 a barrel.
In the last weeks, Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran, while Iran, which is the third-largest producer under the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), fired missiles and drones at Israel as neither side showed any sign of backing down.
As the conflict entered a second week, there was no indication that either side was looking to stand down, and that kept traders on edge.
Although oil exports so far have not been disrupted and there is no shortage of supply, traders will continue to watch possible threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for Middle East oil exports.
Each day, about 18 to 21 million barrels of oil and petroleum products move through the strait, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Market analysts warned that an escalation of the conflict in such a way that Israel attacks export infrastructure or Iran disrupts shipping through the strait could lead to oil selling at $100 – $130 a barrel.
Elsewhere, the European Union has abandoned its proposal to lower the price cap on Russian oil to $45, to stop it from funding its three year aggression against Ukraine.
According to energy services firm, Baker Hughes, US energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for an eighth week in a row for the first time since September 2023. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by one to 554 in the week to June 20, the lowest since November 2021.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology5 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN