Economy
Profit Taking May Pullback Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to give back ground after trending higher over the past several sessions.
Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street, as traders cash in on the recent strength in the markets that has lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to record highs.
Uncertainty about trade talks between the U.S., Canada and Mexico may also weigh on the markets along with concerns about the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
The U.S. is considering imposing tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods as early as next months, and the response from China may have significant consequences for the global economy and currencies.
Extending the upward trend seen in recent sessions, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 climbed to new record closing highs, while the Dow reached its best closing level in nearly seven months.
The major averages all closed in positive territory, although the Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts. While the Nasdaq jumped 79.65 points or 1 percent to 8,109.69, the S&P 500 climbed 16.52 points or 0.6 percent to 2,914.04 and the S&P 500 rose 60.55 points or 0.2 percent to 26,124.57.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq benefited from notable gains by Amazon (AMZN) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), which surged up by 3.4 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, after Morgan Stanley raised its price targets for both stocks.
The continued strength on Wall Street also reflected optimism about renewed trade talks between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Canada rejoined the talks following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a preliminary trade deal with Mexico on Monday.
In remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said “difficult” concessions by Mexico have set the stage for productive conversations in the coming days.
Freeland said she was due to engage into detailed discussions with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Wednesday.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing economic activity grew by more than initially estimated in the second quarter.
The report said real gross domestic product climbed by 4.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the previously reported 4.1 increase. The pace of growth had been expected to be downwardly revised to 4.0 percent.
With the unexpected upward revision, the GDP growth in the second quarter reflects a significant acceleration from the 2.2 percent advance in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the National Association of Realtors showed an unexpected pullback in pending home sales in the month of July.
NAR said its pending home sales index dropped by 0.7 percent to 106.2 in July after jumping by 1.0 percent to an upwardly revised 107.0 in June. Economists had expected pending home sales to rise by 0.3 percent.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
Biotechnology stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, extending a recent upward trend. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index climbed by 1.3 percent to a new record closing high.
Significant strength also emerged among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Retail Index. The index also ended the session at its best closing level on record.
Energy stocks also saw considerable strength, moving higher along with the price of crude oil. Crude for October delivery jumped following the release of a report showing a bigger than expected weekly drop in crude oil inventories.
On the other hand, tobacco stocks extended a recent move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index down by 1.4 percent to a three-month closing low.
By Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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