Economy

Futures Pointing to Initial Weakness on Wall Street

Published

7 years ago

14/11/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday following the lackluster performance seen over the past several sessions.

Some traders may look to cash in on recent strength in the markets amid concerns U.S.-China talks could drag on despite previous indications the signing of a phase trade deal was imminent.

Any early selling pressure is likely to remain subdued, however, as trades will be wary of missing out on any further upside.

The markets have recently shown intense reactions to reports about the trade talks, and an upbeat report could send stocks surging to record highs once again.

Traders may also stick to the sidelines ahead of the release of closely watched reports on U.S. retail sales and industrial production on Friday.

Extending the lackluster performance seen over the past few sessions, stocks showed a lack of direction during trading on Wednesday. Despite the choppy trading, the Dow and the S&P 500 ended the session at new record closing highs.

The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before closing mixed. While the Nasdaq edged down 3.99 points or 0.1 percent to 8,482.10, the Dow rose 92.10 points or 0.3 percent to 27,783.59 and the S&P 500 inched up 2.20 points or 0.1 percent to 3,094.04.

Stocks saw initial weakness amid renewed uncertainty about a potential U.S.-China trade deal after President Donald Trump failed to offer many details about the trade talks in a speech on Tuesday.

In remarks at the Economic Club of New York, Trump claimed the Chinese are “dying to make a deal” and an agreement is “close,” although investors had been hoping for more substantive comments.

Trump later denied that his trade war with China is hurting industry or causing uncertainty and threatened further increases in tariffs if a deal is not reached.

However, selling pressure waned as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated in Congressional testimony that the central bank is likely to leave interest rates unchanged in the near future.

Powell told members of the Joint Economic Committee that the Fed would leave rates at their current level unless there is a material change in the economic outlook.

Trump renewed his attacks on the Fed during his remarks on Tuesday, claiming the economy and the markets would be even stronger if the central bank would take his advice and slash interest rates further.

Stocks moved back to the downside in afternoon trading after a report from the Wall Street Journal said U.S.-China trade talks have hit a snag over Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products.

While Trump has said China agreed to buy up to $50 billion in agricultural products a year, people familiar with the matter told the Journal that China is leery of putting a numerical commitment in the text of a potential agreement.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices rose by slightly more than anticipated in the month of October.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.4 percent in October after coming in unchanged in September. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices edged up by 0.2 percent in October after a 0.1 percent uptick in September. The uptick in core prices matched economist estimates.

Oil service stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 2.4 percent. The weakness among oil service stocks came despite an increase by the price of crude oil.

Renewed uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade deal also contributed to considerable weakness among steel stocks, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index slumping by 2 percent.

On the other hand, interest rate-sensitive utilities showed a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones Utility Average up by 1.5 percent. The average continued to regain ground after ending Monday’s session at its lowest closing level in almost three months.

Notable strength also emerged among gold stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The strength among gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.

Economy

Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange

Published

20 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

20 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

20 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.