Economy

Optimism on Further Stimulus Spikes Buying Interest

Published

7 years ago

09/09/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Monday, with stocks likely to add to the strong gains posted last week.

The markets may benefit from optimism about further stimulus from global central banks, with the European Central Bank expected to cut interest rates at a meeting on Thursday.

Expectations for another interest rate by the U.S. Federal Reserve next week were also bolstered by last Friday?s weaker than expected jobs data.

Data from China showing an unexpected drop in exports in August has also added to the hopes of more stimulus to stave off a global recession.

Official data showed Chinese exports in August unexpectedly fell by 1 percent compared to year ago, reflecting the ongoing trade dispute with the U.S.

Subsequently, the trade war also remains on investors? minds, although traders seem optimistic about high-level trade talks scheduled for next month.

Some political observers have suggested President Donald Trump may soften his stance on China in order to reach an agreement and prevent a U.S. recession just before Election Day.

Following the strong upward move seen last Wednesday and Thursday, stocks showed a lack of direction during trading on Friday. The major averages spent much of the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing mixed.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 13.75 points or 0.2 percent to 8,103.07, the Dow and the S&P 500 reached their best closing levels in over a month. The Dow rose 69.31 points or 0.3 percent to 26,797.46 and the S&P 500 inched up 2.71 points or 0.1 percent to 2,978.71.

Despite the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all moved notably higher for the holiday-shortened week. The Dow jumped by 1.5 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both surged up by 1.8 percent.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came following the release of a closely watched report from the Labor Department showing weaker than expected job growth in the month of August.

The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 130,000 jobs in August after climbing by a downwardly revised 159,000 jobs in July.

Economists had expected employment to increase by about 158,000 jobs compared to the addition of 164,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The weaker than expected job growth came as notable increases in employment in healthcare and financial activities were partly offset by the loss of mining and retail jobs.

The report said government employment climbed by 34,000 jobs, largely reflecting the hiring of temporary workers for the 2020 Census.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent in August, unchanged from July and in line with economist estimates.

The report also said average hourly employee earnings climbed by $0.11 to $28.11 in August following 9-cent gains in both June and July.

“Payrolls growth is slowing but wages are picking up, which underlines the difficult decision facing the Federal Reserve,” said ING Chief International Economist James Knightley.

He added, “The risks from a deteriorating international backdrop and a manufacturing recession mean we still look for September and December rate cuts.”

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who argued the central has helped keep the economy on solid ground amid the uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

“The Fed has through the course of the year seen fit to lower the expected path of interest rates,” Powell said during a forum in Zurich, Switzerland. “That has supported the economy. That is one of the reasons why the outlook is still a favorable one.”

Powell argued that the uncertainty caused by the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China has caused some companies to hold back on investment

“We’ve been hearing quite a bit about uncertainty,” Powell said. “So for businesses, to particularly make longer-term investments in plants or equipment or software, they want some certainty that the demand will be there.”

Despite the uncertainty cause by the trade war, Powell noted the Fed does not currently anticipate a recession, noting the labor market and consumer spending remain strong.

“We’re not forecasting or expecting a recession,” the Fed chief said. “The most likely outlook is still moderate growth, a strong labor market and inflation continuing to move back up.”

Powell also reiterated his oft-repeated pledge that the Fed will “act as appropriate” to sustain the U.S. economic expansion.

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunging by 3.2 percent. The sell-off by gold stocks came as the price of the precious metal turned lower after seeing initial strength.

Natural gas stocks climbed off their worst levels but also saw notable weakness on the day, while some strength was visible among tobacco stocks.

Economy

FrieslandCampina Wamco, Three Others Raise NASD OTC Exchange by 1.41%

Published

4 hours ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.

During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.

Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.

As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.

During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also closed 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 Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Profit-taking Sinks Nigeria’s Equity Market by 0.76% as Bears Take Control

Published

4 hours ago

16/05/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.

The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.

The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.

Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.

The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.

Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.

Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,371/$1 at Official Market

Published

5 hours ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.

However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.

At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.

The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the ‌market settling ⁠into a balance.

Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.

According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.

Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.