Economy
Renewed Trade Concerns May Lead to Pullback on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Monday, with stocks likely to give back ground after moving notably higher last week.
Lingering trade concerns may weigh on the markets amid reports President Donald Trump intends to proceed with plans to impose tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods as early as today.
A report from the Wall Street Journal said the new tariffs would bet set at 10 percent, lower than the 25 percent previously floated by the administration.
The threat of new tariffs could still lead China to decline an offer to hold high-level trade talks, as the country is not prepared to negotiate with a ?gun pointed to its head,? the Journal noted.
In a post on Twitter this morning, Trump claimed tariffs have put the U.S. in a very strong bargaining position and called subsequent cost increases ?almost unnoticeable.?
China has pledged to retaliate to any new tariffs imposed by the U.S., with reports suggesting the communist country could go beyond raising tariffs on U.S. imports and restrict exports of goods critical to U.S. manufacturing.
Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Friday before ending the day little changed. The major averages finished the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line following the gains posted on Thursday.
While the Nasdaq edged down 3.67 points or 0.1 percent to 8,010.04, the Dow inched up 8.68 points or less than a tenth of a percent to a seven-month closing high of 26,154.67 and the S&P 500 crept up 0.80 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,904.98.
Despite the lackluster close on the day, the major averages all moved higher for the week. The Dow climbed by 0.9 percent, the Nasdaq surged up by 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 jumped by 1.2 percent.
The roughly flat close on Wall Street came after a report from Bloomberg said Trump has instructed aides to proceed with plans to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said Trump held a meeting on Thursday to discuss the tariffs with top trade advisers, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
The latest news came on the heels of reports earlier this week indicting the U.S. has proposed holding a new round of trade talks with China in the near future.
Traders were also digesting a slew of U.S. economic data, including a report showing retail sales increased by much less than expected in August.
The Commerce Department said retail sales inched up by 0.1 percent in August after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in July.
Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.5 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding the decrease in auto sales, retail sales rose by 0.3 percent in August after jumping by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in July.
Ex-auto sales had been expected to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.6 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the University of Michigan showed a much bigger than expected improvement in consumer sentiment in September.
The report said the consumer sentiment index jumped to 100.8 in September from 96.2 in August. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 96.6.
The Federal Reserve also released a report showing industrial production rose by slightly more than expected in the month of August.
The Fed said industrial production climbed by 0.4 percent in August, matching the upwardly revised increase in July.
Economists had expected production to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although considerable strength was visible among steel stocks. Reflecting the strength in the steel sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index advanced by 1.5 percent.
Brokerage stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, resulting in a 1.3 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. The index climbed further off the seven-month closing low set on Wednesday.
Semiconductor and transportation stocks also showed notable moves to the upside, while tobacco stocks extended the pullback seen in the previous session.
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session of the new week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a bullish note on Monday after a marginal 0.02 per cent growth.
This was influenced by bargain-hunting activities in the financial and industrial goods ecosystems.
According to data obtained from Customs Street, the insurance space grew by 2.12 per cent, the industrial goods sector appreciated by 0.17 per cent and the banking space expanded by 0.12 per cent.
However, due to profit-taking, the consumer goods index went down yesterday by 0.46 per cent and the energy counter decreased by 0.11 per cent.
When the bourse ended for the session, the bulls were in charge after dealing with the bears, leaving the All-Share Index (ASI) higher by 16.68 points to 102,370.36 points from 102,353.68 points and the market capitalisation increased by N10 billion to N62.861 trillion from N62.851 trillion.
Investor sentiment was strong during the session after the stock exchange finished with 32 price gainers and 26 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index.
Caverton gained 10.00 per cent to close at N2.42, Coronation Insurance improved by 9.91 per cent to N2.44, SCOA Nigeria expanded by 9.68 per cent to N2.72, UPDC jumped by 9.52 per cent to N1.84, and Universal Insurance also rose by 9.52 per cent to 69 Kobo.
On the flip side, Eunisell declined by 9.99 per cent to N14.06, John Holt lost 9.63 per cent to trade at N9.20, Secure Electronic Technology shed 8.99 per cent to quote at 81 Kobo, Honeywell Flour dropped 7.58 per cent to settle at N9.15, and PZ Cussons weakened by 6.00 per cent to N23.50.
Yesterday, a total of 1.3 billion shares worth N17.7 billion exchanged hands in 13,891 deals compared with the 327.8 million shares valued at N11.8 billion traded in 11,905 deals last Friday, implying an increase in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 304.48 per cent, 50.00 per cent, and 16.68 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock was Wema Bank with a turnover of 980.0 million units worth N9.8 billion, Universal Insurance sold 31.3 million units for N21.2 million, AIICO Insurance traded 22.2 million units valued at N36.9 million, Oando transacted 19.8 million units for N1.5 billion, and Zenith Bank exchanged 19.7 million units worth N926.0 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s maiden shipment under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has successfully arrived at the Mombasa Port in Kenya.
According to the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office in a statement, the development marks a historic moment for Africa’s trade landscape.
The Senior Trade Expert at the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, Mr Olusegun Olutayo, said in line with its mandate under the leadership of the National Coordinator, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, the office had coordinated the landmark event.
He said the achievement marked a significant milestone for Nigeria in realising the vision of increased intra-African trade and economic integration championed by the agreement in line with the decision of the AU Assembly at the 31st Ordinary Session of the Assembly.
“In times of escalating geopolitical tension and looming geo-economic fragmentation, AfCFTA presents a perfect opportunity for Africa to leverage trade as a strategic instrument for enhanced market access among state parties.
“This is a historic moment, a realisation of the vision of our continent’s founding fathers and mothers.”
He also said the first consignment which was a synthetic filaments product of Nigeria’s Lucky Fibres Limited (Lush), a subsidiary of the Tolaram Group, was exported under AfCFTA preferential terms.
Mr Olutayo lauded the bold economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu, emphasising their catalytic role in enabling the country’s active participation in AfCFTA, fostering continental economic integration and industrialisation goals.
He also commended the seamless cooperation and commitment from Kenyan authorities, which exemplifies the true spirit of AfCFTA.
He acknowledged the pivotal leadership role of the AfCFTA Secretariat in fostering the success and emphasised the collaborative efforts of the Kenya AfCFTA Implementation Committee and the Kenya Revenue Authority (Customs).
According to him, the shipment, exported under AfCFTA preferential trade terms, underscores partnership, shared vision, the agreement’s potential to transform Africa’s economic landscape and pave the way for a new era of trade-driven prosperity.
The AfCFTA seeks to create a single market across Africa by reducing barriers to trade, investment, and labour.
The agreement’s goal is to increase socioeconomic development, reduce poverty, and make Africa more competitive globally.
On March 21, 2018, the AfCFTA agreement was adopted and opened for signature in Kigali, Rwanda. The agreement entered into force on May 30, 2019 and officially commenced on January 2021
Former President Muhammadu Buhari established the National Action Committee on AfCFTA (NAC) in December 2019.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fixed January 31 as deadline for all Capital Market Operators (CMOs) to renew their operating licence.
In a circular to the operators on Sunday, the apex regulatory agency in the country’s capital market said the annual registration renewal would last between January 1 and 31, 2025.
SEC said the annual registration renewal enforcement for CMOs was aimed at ensuring that only “fit and proper” persons operate in the capital market, warning that CMOs without valid registration will be penalised and may be excluded from capital market activities.
”This is to inform all CMOs and the general public that the annual renewal of registration of CMOs for the year 2025 will commence from January 01.
“All CMOs applying for renewal are required to include their 2025 annual subscription receipt from their respective trade groups as part of their application.
“In line with the commission’s Rules & Regulations, all CMOs are to complete the process of renewal of registration for 2025 on or before January 31 via registration renewal portal at www.eportal.sec.gov.ng,” it said.
The commission added that CMOs desiring to make enquiries or get support to complete the process should contact [email protected].
The regulator said it had in 2021 re-introduced periodic registration renewal by CMOs to create a reliable active operators’ data bank in the country’s capital market.
It said the renewal arrangement aimed at updating operators information on capital market for official use by local and foreign investors, other regulatory agencies and the public.
The agency added that the renewals would drastically reduce incidences of unethical practices by CMOs which may affect investors’ confidence and impact the capital market negatively, noting that the exercise will strengthen supervision and monitoring of CMOs by the commission.
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