Economy
Lingering Trade Worries to Stretch Wall Street Volatility
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Wednesday following the notable advance seen over the course of the previous session.
Stocks are likely to move back to the downside as traders continue to worry the trade dispute between the U.S. and China is escalating into a full-fledged trade war.
A report from the South China Morning Post said Chinas is re-examining the entire bilateral economic relationship between the U.S. and China.
The SCMP said Chinese government advisers are highlighting the risk of sourcing critical supplies from an increasingly hostile U.S. following the Trump administration?s recent move to blacklist Chinese tech giant Huawei.
Mei Xinyu, a fellow at the research institute under China?s Ministry of Commerce, told the SCMP that Beijing should prepare for the worst-case scenario to defend its rights in climbing up the global value chain through technological catch-up.
?Even if a deal is reached, it could be torn apart [by President Donald Trump] easily at any time,? Mei said, comparing the current trade talk deadlock to the Panmunjom peace talks during the Korean War.
Potentially adding to the trade concerns, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin recently told CNBC?s Ylan Mui the U.S. has no plans to go to Beijing to resume trade negotiations.
Later in the session, trading may be impacted by reaction to the release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.
The minutes may shed additional light on the outlook for interest rates but could also be viewed as old news considering the constantly shifting developments on the trade front.
With the markets continuing to show intense sensitivity to trade-related news, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during the trading day on Tuesday after moving mostly lower over the course of Monday?s session.
The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow climbed 197.43 points or 0.8 percent to 25,877.33, the Nasdaq jumped 83.35 points or 1.1 percent to 7,785.72 and the S&P 500 advanced 24.13 points or 0.9 percent to 2,864.36.
The rebound on Wall Street came in reaction to news that the U.S. Commerce Department has temporarily eased trade restrictions on Chinese tech giant Huawei.
The Commerce Department issued a temporary license authorizing specific, limited engagement in transactions involving the export, re-export, and transfer of items to Huawei for 90 days.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the temporary reprieve grants “operators time to make other arrangements and the Department space to determine the appropriate long term measures for Americans and foreign telecommunications providers that currently rely on Huawei equipment for critical services.”
“In short, this license will allow operations to continue for existing Huawei mobile phone users and rural broadband networks,” he added.
The move by the Trump administration led U.S. tech giant Google to reverse an earlier decision and announce it will continue to work with Huawei over the next 90 days.
Tech stocks rebounded on the news after falling sharply in the previous session amid reports of companies cutting off supplies to Huawei.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the National Association of Realtors showing an unexpected drop in existing home sales in the month of April.
NAR said existing home sales dipped by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.19 million in April after plunging by 4.9 percent to a rate of 5.21 million in March.
The continued decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected existing home sales to jump by 2.7 percent to a rate of 5.35 million.
Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day after falling sharply in the previous session.
Reflecting the rebound by the sector, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiked by 2.1 percent after plunging by 4 percent on Monday.
Substantial strength also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.
Natural gas, steel, computer hardware and oil service stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Afriland Properties Plc and Geo-Fluids Plc crashed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by a marginal 0.06 per cent on Wednesday, December 11 due to profit-taking activities.
The OTC securities exchange experienced a downfall at midweek despite UBN Property Plc posting a price appreciation of 17 Kobo to close at N1.96 per share, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1.79.
Business Post reports that Afriland Properties Plc slid by N1.14 to finish at N15.80 per unit versus the preceding day’s N16.94 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 1 Kobo to trade at N3.92 per share compared with the N3.93 it ended a day earlier.
At the close of transactions, the market capitalisation of the bourse, which measures the total value of securities on the platform, shrank by N650 million to finish at N1.055 trillion compared with the previous day’s N1.056 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went down by 1.86 points to wrap the session at 3,012.50 points compared with 3,014.36 points recorded in the previous session.
The alternative stock market was busy yesterday as the volume of securities traded by investors soared by 146.9 per cent to 5.9 million units from 2.4 million units, as the value of shares transacted by the market participants jumped by 360.9 per cent to N22.5 million from N4.9 million, and the number of deals increased by 50 per cent to 21 deals from 14 deals.
When the bourse closed for the day, 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 worth N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc, which is now listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after its exit from NASD, remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units sold for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The euphoria around the recent appreciation of the Naira eased on Wednesday, December 11 after its value shrank against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N5.23 or 0.3 per cent to N1,547.50/$1 from the N1,542.27/$1 it was valued on Tuesday.
It was observed that spectators’ activities may have triggered the weakening of the local currency in the official market at midweek as they tried to fight back and ensure the value of funds in foreign currencies strengthened.
The domestic currency was regaining its footing after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched an Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s FX market.
At midweek, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling by N3.56 to close at N1,958.68/£1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,955.12/£1 and against the Euro, it slumped by 34 Kobo to trade at N1,612.66/€1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,613.00/€1.
As for the black market segment, the Naira lost N45 against the American currency during the session to quote at N1,670/$1 compared with the N1,625/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
A look at the cryptocurrency market showed a recovery following profit-taking as the US Consumer Price Index report matched economist forecasts.
The news was enough to convince traders that the Federal Reserve is certain to trim its benchmark fed funds rate another 25 basis points at its meeting next week.
The move also saw Bitcoin (BTC), the most valued coin, return to the $100,000 mark as it added a 2.9 per cent gain and sold for $100,566.12.
The biggest gainer was Cardano (ADA), which jumped by 15.00 per cent to trade at $1.16, as Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 10.4 per cent to sell for $121.76, and Ethereum (ETH) surged by 7.0 per cent to $3,929.30, while Dogecoin (DOGE) recorded a 6.7 per cent growth to finish at $0.4181.
Further, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 5.2 per cent to $716.72, Solana (SOL) expanded by 4.6 per cent to $229.77, and Ripple (XRP) increased by 4.2 per cent to $2.43, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Dangote Refinery located in the Lekki area of Lagos State has made its first export of premium motor spirit (PMS) just three months after it commenced the production of petrol.
In September 2024, the refinery produced its first petrol and began loading to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) on September 15.
However, due to some issues, the facility has not been able to flood the local market with its product, forcing it to look elsewhere.
In a landmark move for regional energy integration, Dangote Refinery has partnered with Neptune Oil to take its petrol to neighbouring Cameroon.
Neptune Oil is a leading energy company in Cameroon which provides reliable and sustainable energy solutions.
Dangote Refinery said this development showcases its ability to meet domestic needs and position itself as a key player in the regional energy market, adding that it represents a significant step forward in accessing high-quality and locally sourced petroleum products for Cameroon.
“This first export of PMS to Cameroon is a tangible demonstration of our vision for a united and energy-independent Africa.
“With this development, we are laying the foundation for a future where African resources are refined and exchanged within the continent for the benefit of our people,” the owner of Dangote Refinery, Mr Aliko Dangote, said.
His counterpart at Neptune Oil, Mr Antoine Ndzengue, said, “This partnership with Dangote Refinery marks a turning point for Cameroon.
“By becoming the first importer of petroleum products from this world-class refinery, we are bolstering our country’s energy security and supporting local economic development.
“This initial supply, executed without international intermediaries, reflects our commitment to serving our markets independently and efficiently.”
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