Economy

Ongoing Trade Concerns Weigh on US Stocks

Published

6 years ago

20/05/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Monday, with stocks likely to see some further downside following the pullback seen late in the previous session.

Ongoing concerns about the escalating U.S.-China trade dispute are likely to weigh on Wall Street after Google suspended some of its business with Chinese tech giant Huawei.

Google has cut Huawei off from business involving the transfer of hardware, software and technical services, complying with an order by President Donald Trump blocking the sale or transfer of U.S. technology to Huawei.

?We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications,? a Google spokesperson said, noting services such as Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data may keep some traders on the sidelines.

Reports on new and existing home sales and durable goods orders are likely to attract attention in the coming days along with the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.

Stocks showed wild swings over the course of the trading session on Friday before ending the day mostly lower. The major averages recovered from an initial move to the downside only to pull back sharply late in the session.

At the end of the day, the major averages were all firmly in negative territory. The Dow fell 98.68 points or 0.4 percent to 25,764.00, the Nasdaq slumped 81.76 points or 1 percent to 7,816.28 and the S&P 500 dropped 16.79 points or 0.6 percent to 2,859.53.

The major averages also closed lower for the week. The Nasdaq tumbled by 1.3 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 slid by 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Reflecting recent market sensitivity to trade-related news, the late-day pullback came on the heels of a CNBC report indicating negotiations between the U.S. and China appear to have stalled.

Citing two sources briefed on the status of trade talks, CNBC said scheduling for the next round of negotiations is “in flux” because it is unclear what the two sides would discuss.

Sources told CNBC discussions regarding scheduling the next round of talks have not taken place since President Donald Trump signed an executive order ramping up scrutiny of Chinese telecom companies.

Lingering concerns about the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China also contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street.

While Trump has sought to blame China for backing out of a nearly completed trade deal, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce claims the U.S. is responsible for serious setbacks in the trade talks.

Commerce Ministry spokesperson Gao Feng accused the Trump administration of “bullying behavior” with a recent increase in tariffs, according to state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua.

“It is regrettable that the U.S. side unilaterally escalated trade disputes, which resulted in severe negotiating setbacks,” Gao said.

He added, “We urge the U.S. side to correct wrongdoings as soon as possible to avoid causing heavier damages to businesses and consumers in both countries and dragging down the global economy.?

However, concerns about trade waned after the Trump administration officially delayed imposing tariffs on imported automobiles and parts for up to six months, confirming media reports from earlier this week.

A White House statement noted Trump has directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to negotiate agreements to address the national security threat posed by auto imports.

On the U.S. economic front, the University of Michigan released a report showing a substantial improvement in consumer sentiment in May, although the data was recorded mostly before trade negotiations with China collapsed.

The preliminary report showed the consumer sentiment index surged up to 102.4 in May from 97.2 in April, reaching its highest level in fifteen years. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 97.5.

Oil service stocks showed a substantial move to the downside over the course of the trading session, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 3.2 percent. The sell-off by oil service stocks came amid a modest decrease by the price of crude oil.

Significant weakness also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Natural gas, oil producer, and networking stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, notable strength was visible among computer hardware stocks.

Shares of Cray Inc. (CRAY) soared 22.5 percent after she supercomputer maker agreed to be acquired by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) for $1.3 billion in cash.

Economy

Unlisted Securities in Nigeria Down 0.41%

Published

53 minutes ago

15/04/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange opened the week on a sad note after it depreciated by 0.41 per cent on Monday, April 14.

The loss was influenced by the decline in the share price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc during the session by N1.80 to close at N20.90 per unit compared with the N22.70 per unit it closed last Friday.

This brought down the market capitalisation of the trading platform by N7.78 billion to N1.911 trillion from N1.919 trillion as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) was also pulled down by 13.28 points to 3,264.29 points from the previous session’s 3,277.57 points.

Business Post reports that the bourse crumbled yesterday despite two securities on the platform finishing on the gainers’ chart.

UBN Property Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo on Monday to sell for N2.17 per share versus the preceding session’s N1.98 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 8 Kobo to settle at N35.63 per unit, in contrast to last Friday’s N35.55 per unit.

Yesterday, there was a 99.7 per cent decline in the volume of securities traded by the market participants to 436,357 units from the 152.3 million units recorded in the previous trading day.

There was also a 99.8 per cent fall in the value of transactions to N10.1 million from N4.6 billion, while the number of deals increased by 218.8 per cent to 51 deals from 16 deals.

At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units valued at N520.9 million, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units worth N4.9 billion, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 71.2 million units sold for N24.2 million.

Okitipupa Plc was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 153.6 million worth N4.9 billion, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 14.7 million units sold for N566.9 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units valued at N520.9 million.

Economy

Fears of CBEX Crashing Trigger Looting of Offices in Ibadan, Others

Published

1 hour ago

15/04/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Offices of a popular Ponzi scheme operator, CBEX, in Ibadan and a few other places in Nigeria have been looted by some aggrieved investors.

This followed news that the company has shut down its services, with funds of several investors trapped.

Last week, there were speculations that CBEX has crashed following the inability of members to withdraw their funds.

The company quickly dispelled this, noting that it locked the wallets of its investors because of the bonuses gifted members, which must be used for trading before withdrawal.

CBEX, thereafter, assured that from Tuesday, April 15, 2025, members of the Ponzi scheme would be able to withdraw their funds without ease.

However, on Monday, it was gathered that funds in the accounts of investors were wiped off, with a notice to members that they would only be access their money upon the payment of a reactivation fee, a similar pattern of other defunct operators.

“All accounts need to undergo the following verification steps to ensure their authenticity.

“For accounts with funds below $1,000 before any losses, a deposit of $100 is required.

“For accounts with funds exceeding $1,000, a deposit of $200 is required.

“Additionally, please keep your deposit receipts to ensure you can prove the authenticity of the account during future withdrawal reviews,” the message from CBEX stated.

This development shattered the hopes of some investors, triggering a looting spree of the company’s offices.

Some videos of the internet showed moments some irate youth stormed the Ibadan office of the organisation, carting away with some valuables, including office items and others.

Many Nigerians have expressed shock at the level of acceptance of the Ponzi scheme in the country despite the harrowing experience of MMM some years ago.

Business Post reports that some weeks ago, a similar Ponzi scheme operator, Cheersway, went away with investors’ funds after it claimed its platform was hacked.

Just like CBEX, it asked members to pay a reactivation fee of their exact level, which ranges from $50, $150, $400, and $1,000, to have access to their money, but most of those who paid were never granted any access until the company folded up.

Also, those who invested in a new investment vehicle it came up with, TikTok Shop, could not receive their capital and return-on-investment as promised.

It later assured investors that it would move them to a new company established last month known as C&P Capital, noting that they would get their funds back after the new organisation makes profit, probably after two years of operations.

Economy

Naira Strengthens to N1,605/$1 at NAFEM, N1,615/$1 at Black Market

Published

2 hours ago

15/04/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further strengthened against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 14, by N5.83 or 0.36 per cent to settle at N1,605.25/$1, in contrast to the N1,611.08/$1 it was traded in the previous session, which was last Friday.

Equally, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market during the session by N34.55 to quote at N2,056.03/£1 versus the preceding trading day’s value of N2,090.58/£1 and gained N45.66 on the Euro to finish at N1,770.14/€1 compared with the N1,815.82/€1 it was exchanged in the previous trading session.

In the same vein, the domestic currency improved its exchange rate against the Dollar yesterday by N5 in the black market to sell for N1,615/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,620/$1.

The pressure on the Nigerian currency eased on Monday as tariffs from the United States were paused, and recent signals showed that the government was complementing efforts to stabilise the market via adequate liquidity and supporting orderly market functioning.

A look at the cryptocurrency market showed a mixed outcome as President Donald Trump of the United States, after pausing sweeping global tariffs, made some concessions on electronics imports.

Further easing concerns was the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, confirming to hold off on retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth €21 billion until July 14 to allow space for negotiations.

The US Federal Reserve also signalled that a return of the original punitive Mr Trump tariffs would trigger the need for sizable “bad news” rate cuts.

Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated yesterday by 3.5 per cent to sell at $0.1593, Solana (SOL) which lost 1.2 per cent to trade at $130.99, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 0.6 per cent to $77.74, and Cardano (ADA) dropped 0.3 per cent to close at $0.6405.

On the flip side, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 1.2 per cent to $85,435.17, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 0.9 per cent to $1,636.35, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.5 per cent to $2.14, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.08 per cent to $588.65, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.