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

MRS Oil, FrieslandCampina Wamco Shrink NASD Index by 0.68%

Published

1 day ago

06/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.

MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.

As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.

The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.

Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.

When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 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 worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.

Economy

NGX Index Rebounds 0.15% on Renewed Interest in Financial Stocks

Published

1 day ago

06/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.

Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.

This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.

The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.

On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.

Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.

Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.

At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.

Economy

Naira Depreciates to N1,362/$1 at Official Market

Published

1 day ago

06/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.

However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.

For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.

The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.

Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.

As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.

Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.

Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.