Economy

Mixed Earnings News May Push Markets in Opposite Directions

Published

8 years ago

27/04/2018

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Friday, as the Nasdaq futures are moving higher but the Dow and S&P 500 futures are moving to the downside.

A mixed batch of earnings news may push the markets in opposite directions, with tech giants such as Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC) reporting better than expected quarterly results, while energy giant ExxonMobil (XOM) reported weaker than expected earnings.

Traders are also digesting a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. economic growth slowed by less than expected in the first quarter of 2018.

Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session on Thursday, as traders reacted positively to latest batch of earnings news. The major averages climbed firmly into positive territory after ending the previous session mixed.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels in the final hour of trading but held on to strong gains. The Dow jumped 238.51 points or 1 percent to 24,322.34, the Nasdaq soared 114.94 points or 1.6 percent to 7,118.68 and the S&P 500 surged up 27.54 points or 1 percent to 2,666.94.

The rally on Wall Street came following the release of upbeat earnings news from several big-name companies, with shares of Facebook (FB) surging up by 9.1 percent.

The jump by Facebook came after the social media giant reported first quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also moved sharply higher after reporting better than expected first quarter results.

Shares of Visa (V) also moved to the upside after the credit card giant reported fiscal second quarter results that exceeded expectations and raised its full-year guidance.

Stocks also benefited from a pullback by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year moving lower after ending the previous session above 3 percent for the first time in well over four years.

The drop by treasury yields came despite the release of some upbeat economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level in nearly five decades in the week ended April 21st.

The report said initial jobless claims dropped to 209,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 233,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 230,000.

With the much bigger than expected decrease, jobless claims slid to their lowest level since hitting 202,000 in December of 1969.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed another jump in orders for transportation equipment contributed to a bigger than expected increase in durable goods orders in the month of March.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders surged up by 2.6 percent in March after spiking by an upwardly revised 3.5 percent in February.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 1.6 percent compared to the 3.0 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding the skyrocketing orders for transportation equipment, however, durable goods orders came in unchanged in March compared to a 0.9 percent increase in February. Ex-transportation orders had been expected to rise by 0.5 percent.

Retail stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones Retail Index up by 2.5 percent. Despite the gain, the index remained stuck in a recent trading range.

Significant strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent jump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index bounced off its lowest closing level in well over two months.

Steel, energy, biotechnology, and real estate stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while transportation stocks showed a notable move to the downside.

Economy

NASD Index Appreciates by 0.58% Amid Robust Turnover

Published

1 hour ago

20/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange further appreciated by 0.58 per cent on Tuesday, May 19, buoyed by strong investor appetite for unlisted securities.

Data from the bourse showed that the volume of securities traded during the session ballooned by 365,661.8 per cent to 1.9 billion units compared with the previous day’s 514,142 units, as the value of transactions surged by 30,433.9 per cent to N5.3 billion from the preceding session’s N17.4 million, and the number of deals increased by 22.2 per cent, as these trades were executed in 60 deals versus the 27 deals recorded a day earlier.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 60.9 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion.

GNI Plc was also 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 sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.

During the session, there were three price gainers and one price loser, led by Afriland Properties Plc, which went down by 5 Kobo to trade at N16.90 per share versus the previous day’s N16.95 per share.

But FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc appreciated by N12.45 to N151.79 per unit from N146.55 per unit, CSCS Plc expanded by 62 Kobo to N70.62 per share from N70.00 per share, and UBN Property Plc added 20 Kobo to close at N2.24 per unit versus N2.04 per unit.

At the close of business, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 24.05 points to 4,157.75 points from 4,133.70 points, and the market capitalisation chalked up N14.39 billion to close at N2.487 trillion compared with Monday’s N2.473 trillion.

Economy

Naira Further Loses 17 Kobo at NAFEX

Published

1 hour ago

20/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, May 19, by 17 Kobo or 0.01 per cent to trade at N1,373.87/$1 compared to the previous day’s N1,373.70/$1.

However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window by 5 Kobo to close at N1,839.61/£1 versus Monday’s rate of N1,839.66/£1, and gained N5.97 against the Euro to settle at N1,594.52/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,600.49/€1.

Data from GTBank FX bench showed that the Naira appreciated against the US Dollar yesterday by N2 to sell at N1,381/$1 versus N1,383, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,390/$1.

The outcome across the board came as Nigeria’s external reserves have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, which may provide some support for FX market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and broader macroeconomic stability efforts.

Currency traders and investors are expected to continue monitoring CBN policy direction, foreign portfolio inflows, crude oil earnings, and external reserve performance as key indicators influencing the naira’s trajectory in the coming months.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting began on Tuesday with announcements of decisions expected later on Wednesday after inflation ticked up in April.

In the cryptocurrency market, major digital coins were down as traders focused on macro data, oil prices, and inflation, while the US Senate advanced a measure that could force President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval for the Iran war.

Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.3 per cent to $1.36, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 0.9 per cent to $0.1034, Cardano (ADA) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $0.2499, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 0.5 per cent to $2,124.02, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.5 per cent to $84.67, TRON (TRX) dipped by 0.4 per cent to $0.3551, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 0.1 per cent to $641.39.

On the flip side, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 0.3 per cent to $77,114.20, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

Nigerian Bourse Gains N917bn Amid Weak Investor Sentiment

Published

4 hours ago

20/05/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian bourse rebounded by 0.57 per cent on Tuesday despite weak investor sentiment triggered by a negative market breadth index after finishing with 26 price gainers and 31 price losers.

Customs Street was saved from a further decline due to buying interest in some mid and large-cap equities, which offset profit-taking in others.

It was observed that the insurance sector bled by 1.64 per cent and the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.93 per cent. However, the industrial goods space appreciated by 2.27 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.98 per cent, and the energy industry rose by 0.11 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 1,430.59 points to settle at 251,635.42 points compared with the previous day’s 250,204.83 points, and the market capitalisation chalked up N917 billion to close at N161.280 trillion versus the N160.363 trillion it ended a day earlier.

FTN Cocoa led the advancers’ chart after rising by 10.00 per cent to trade at N9.79, Zichis increased by 9.97 per cent to N29.13, SAHCO jumped by 9.79 per cent to N156.95, Caverton flew by 9.76 per cent to N6.75, and Japaul grew by 9.73 per cent to N3.72.

Conversely, Unilever Nigeria depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N153.00, Trans-Nationwide Express crashed by 9.92 per cent to N6.99, Sovereign Trust Insurance fell by 9.81 per cent to N2.39, McNichols slumped by 9.26 per cent to N7.25, and Austin Laz declined by 7.28 per cent to N4.20.

The busiest stock on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited yesterday was Access Holdings with 88.4 million units sold for N2.3 billion. Linkage Assurance transacted 46.2 million units valued at N83.5 million, Sterling Holdings traded 44.9 million units worth N349.3 million, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 35.0 million units valued at N31.6 million, and Zenith Bank sold 30.4 million units for N4.0 billion.

At the close of trades, a total of 704.0 million units worth N32.2 billion were executed in 64,539 deals versus the 800.5 million units valued at N37.1 billion traded in 87,096 deals on Monday, implying a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 12.06 per cent, 13.21 per cent, and 25.90 per cent, respectively.