Economy

M&A News Generates Early Buying Interest on Wall Street

Published

7 years ago

25/11/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Monday following the modest pullback seen last week.

The markets may benefit from continued optimism about a U.S.-China trade agreement after a tabloid run by China?s ruling Communist Party discounted ?negative? media reports and said the economic superpowers are ?very close? to a phase one deal.

China also remains committed to continuing talks for a phase two or even a phase three deal with the United States, the state-backed Global Times said on Twitter.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have also recently made positive comments about a potential trade deal despite reports of complications arising that could delay the agreement until next year.

News on the merger-and-acquisition front may also generate positive sentiment, as the deals suggest companies remain confident even with the uncertainty created by the U.S.-China trade dispute.

Nonetheless, overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of reports on new home sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending in the coming days.

After moving mostly lower over the past few sessions, stocks turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Friday. The major averages showed a lack of direction but managed to end the session modestly higher.

The Dow rose 109.33 points or 0.4 percent to 27,875.62, the Nasdaq edged up 13.67 points or 0.2 percent to 8,519.88 and the S&P 500 inched up 6.75 points or 0.2 percent to 3,110.29.

Despite the gains on the day, the major averages all moved lower for the week. The Dow fell by 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 dipped by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

The choppy trading on the day came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid lingering uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade deal.

Recent reports have suggested the signing of a phase one trade deal could be delayed until next year as U.S. and Chinese officials struggle to reach agreement on core issues.

The next round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods is set to take effect on December 15th, potentially complicating efforts to reach an agreement.

In remarks at Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China wants to work toward a phase one agreement on the basis of mutual respect and equality but will fight back if necessary.

Xi met with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the forum, reportedly describing U.S.-China relations as being at a critical juncture

“China and the United States should step up communication on strategic concerns to avoid misjudgment and enhance mutual understanding,” Xi told Kissinger, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News this morning that a trade agreement with China is “very close” and that the two economic superpowers have a “very good chance to make a deal.”

Traders largely shrugged off a report from the University of Michigan showing a much bigger than expected upward revision to its reading on U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of November.

The report said the consumer sentiment index for November was upwardly revised to 96.8 from the preliminary reading of 95.7. The revised reading is well above the final October reading of 95.5.

Steel stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 2.1 percent.

Significant strength also emerged among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index.

The strength in the natural gas sector came amid a substantial increase by the price of the commodity, as natural gas for December delivery jumped $0.098 or 3.8 percent to $2.665 per million BTUs.

Banking and transportation stocks also moved to the upside on the day, while notable weakness among computer hardware stocks led to a 1.5 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Economy

Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange

Published

21 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

22 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

22 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.