Economy

Political Uncertainty May Weigh on US Stocks

Published

8 years ago

10/05/2017

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a modestly lower opening on Wednesday following the lacklustre performance seen over the two previous sessions.

Political uncertainty may weigh on the markets on the heels of President Donald Trump’s abrupt dismissal of FBI Director James Comey.

In a letter to Comey, Trump said it is essential to find new leadership that restores public trust and confidence in the FBI’s vital law enforcement mission.

A statement from the White House said Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The move has generate some criticism, however, as it comes as Comey was leading an investigation of potential ties between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign.

Nonetheless, traders may stick to the sidelines ahead of the release of key reports on retail sales and producer and consumer prices in the coming days.

After seeing modest strength early in the session, stocks turned mixed over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. While the Dow and the S&P 500 pulled back into negative territory, the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached a new record closing high.

The Nasdaq rose 17.93 points or 0.3 percent to 6,120.59, but the Dow dipped 36.50 points or 0.2 percent to 20,975.78 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.46 points or 0.1 percent to 2,396.92.

The mixed close on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key reports on retail sales and producer and consumer prices later this week.

Early in the session, some buying interest was generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news, with Marriott (MAR) and Office Depot (ODP) moving notably higher after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings.

Traders also kept an eye on comments from Federal Reserve officials, with Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren suggesting the central bank could be forced to raise interest rates at a faster pace if unemployment drops below 4 percent.

“Such an overheated economy would likely be accompanied by higher inflation, which in turn would likely elicit higher interest rates,” Rosengren said.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected increase in wholesale inventories in the month of March.

The report said wholesale inventories rose by 0.2 percent in March after climbing by 0.3 percent in February. Inventories had been expected to edge down by 0.1 percent.

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

Energy stocks saw considerable weakness, however, with a drop by the price of crude oil weighing on the sector. Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index dropped by 1.3 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, biotechnology stocks showed a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 1.3 percent.

Within the biotech sector, Endo International (ENDP) posted a standout gain after reporting better than expected first quarter earnings.

Semiconductor and networking stocks also saw some strength on the day, contributing to the higher close by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Economy

Food Concepts, Acorn Petroleum Weaken Alternative Stock Market by 0.33%

Published

6 hours ago

30/11/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Food Concepts Plc and Acorn Petroleum Plc were the catalysts that brought down the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.33 per cent on Friday, November 29.

The NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 9.94 points to wrap the session at 3,016.66 points compared with 3,026.60 points recorded in the previous session, and the OTC market capitalisation lost N3.48 billion to settle at N1.057 trillion, in contrast to the previous day’s N1.060 trillion.

Food Concepts, which is the parent company of fast food chains – Chicken Republic and PieXpress, lost 17 Kobo to settle at N1.58 per share versus the previous session’s N1.75 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc recorded a 15 Kobo depreciation to quote at N1.54 per unit, in contrast to Thursday’s closing rate of N1.69 per unit.

On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc improved its value by N2.23 to trade at N24.58 per share compared with the preceding day’s N22.35 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 5 Kobo to close at N3.95 per unit, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N3.90 per unit.

There was a decline in the volume of securities traded by investors by 85.3 per cent to 433,854 units from the 2.9 million units recorded a day earlier, the value of shares recorded during the session slid by 88.9 per cent to N876,364.63 from N7.9 million, and the number of deals increased by 25 per cent to 15 deals from the 12 deals posted a day earlier.

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 sold for N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units worth N5.3 million.

Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Falls to N1,672/$1 Ahead of CBN FX Matching System Launch

Published

6 hours ago

30/11/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated against the US Dollar by 1.7 per cent or N27.83 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, November 29 as supply weakened ahead of the official unveiling of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) next week.

The exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar in the official market ended yesterday at N1,672.69/$1, in contrast to the N1,644.86/$1 it closed on Thursday.

Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions went down by 56.7 per cent or $306.24 million to $254.10 million from the $560.34 million achieved the previous day.

However, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the spot market during the trading session by N13.38 to settle at N2,111.48/£1 compared with the preceding day’s N2,124.86/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N15.61 to finish at N1,757.57/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,773.18/€1.

The CBN EFEMS initiative designed to ensure transparent, fair, and efficient FX trading, minimise counterparty risks, and enforce compliance with CBN regulations will go live on Monday, December 2.

The apex bank has pegged the minimum tradable amount at $100,000, with incremental clip sizes of $50,000 to promote transparency and efficiency in the FX market.

In the parallel market, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the US Dollar yesterday by N15 to settle at N1,735/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,750/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, Ripple (XRP) surged by 18.9 per cent the past 24 hours to finish at $1.92, extending a month-long run that has seen the price rise 200 per cent to make the token the best-performing major token alongside Dogecoin (DOGE).

Further, Litecoin (LTC) added 6.6 per cent to close at $101.96, Cardano (ADA) rose by 5.9 per cent to $1.13, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 5.4 per cent to $0.4265, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 4.2 per cent to sell at $3,697.06, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 3.7 per cent to trade at $674.85, Solana (SOL) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $244.08, and Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $96,811.57, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) fell by 0.03 per cent to $0.9999, and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00.

Economy

Nigerian Stocks Fall 0.28% as Investor Sentiment Turns Bearish

Published

7 hours ago

30/11/2024

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A 0.28 per cent loss was suffered by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday to reverse the growth achieved in the preceding session.

This was caused by profit-taking, especially in the energy sector, as its index weakened by 2.56 per cent, and the insurance counter depreciated by 1.83 per cent, while the industrial goods space slumped by 0.15 per cent.

However, the banking sector appreciated by 0.67 per cent, and the consumer goods counter improved by a marginal 0.01 per cent.

At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 276.94 points to settle at 97,506.87 points compared with the preceding day’s 97,783.81 points and the market capitalisation declined by N168 billion to finish at N59.107 trillion versus Thursday’s N59.275 trillion.

Regency Alliance lost 9.80 per cent to trade at 46 Kobo, Lasaco Assurance fell by 9.75 per cent to N2.13, Academy Press waned by 9.71 per cent to N2.79, Austin Laz declined by 9.68 per cent to N1.96, and Cornerstone Insurance depleted by 6.91 per cent to N2.56.

Conversely, Haldane McCall gained 9.54 per cent to quote at N6.20, Royal Exchange jumped by 8.77 per cent to 62 Kobo, Sovereign Trust Insurance improved by 7.35 per cent to 73 Kobo, Tantalizers rose by 5.50 per cent to N1.15, and NPF Microfinance Bank appreciated by 4.67 per cent to N1.57.

Business Post reports that FBN Holdings ended the session as the most active stock with 126.0 million units valued at N3.3 billion, Haldane McCall transacted 91.3 million units worth N521.8 million, Japaul sold 61.4 million units for N138.9 million, Tantalizers exchanged 35.7 million units valued at N40.5 million, and Sterling Holdings traded 23.8 million worth N114.5 million.

When trading activities closed for the session, the market participants bought and sold 515.5 million units of Nigerian stocks worth N15.1 billion in 7,554 deals compared with the 632.7 million units valued at N10.8 billion traded on Thursday in 8,404 deals, implying a rise in the trading value by 39.82 per cent and a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 18.52 per cent and 10.11 per cent, respectively.