Economy

Trade Deal Pessimism Weigh on US Stocks

Published

6 years ago

18/11/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures have erased an earlier advance and are currently pointing to a roughly flat opening on Monday following last week?s climb to record highs.

The pullback by the futures came after a tweet from CNBC?s Beijing Bureau Chief Eunice Yoon suggested Chinese officials have grown pessimistic about the chances for a trade deal.

?Mood in Beijing about #trade deal is pessimistic, government source tells me. #China troubled after Trump said no tariff rollback. (China thought both had agreed in principle.)? Yoon tweeted.

She added, ?Strategy now to talk but wait due to impeachment, US election. Also prioritize China economic support.?

The futures had previously benefited from a weekend report from Chinese state media indicating the U.S. and China had ?constructive discussions? regarding a phase one trade deal in a high-level phone call.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly talked with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He about the core issues for an agreement.

Traders have recently put tremendous faith in reports and comments about the trade talks, highlighting the importance of a trade deal to the global economic outlook.

Optimism a trade agreement will eventually be reached has helped propel stocks to record highs, although it remains to be seen if a deal will be finalized and actually benefit U.S. producers.

Following the lackluster performance seen over the past several sessions, stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Friday. With the upward move on the day, the major averages all reached new record highs.

The major averages saw continued strength going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow jumped 222.93 points or 0.8 percent to 28,004.89, the Nasdaq climbed 61.81 points or 0.7 percent to 8,540.83 and the S&P 500 advanced 23.83 points or 0.8 percent to 3,120.46.

For the week, the Dow surged up by 1.2 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 climbed by 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

The strength on Wall Street came amid renewed optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal following comments from White House officials.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Thursday that U.S. and Chinese negotiators are in contact every single day and are “getting close” to a phase one trade deal.

“It’s not done yet, but there has been very good progress and the talks have been very constructive,” Kudlow said at an event at the Council on Foreign Relations.

In an appearance on the Fox Business Network on Friday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the talks are “down to the last details” and a deal will be completed “in all likelihood.”

Adding to the positive sentiment, China has lifted a nearly five-year ban on imports of U.S. poultry in a goodwill gesture that could lead to more than $1 billion in annual shipments to China.

Traders also reacted positively to a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. retail sales rebounded by slightly more than expected in the month of October.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.3 percent in October, reversing the 0.3 percent drop in September. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.2 percent.

Excluding a rebound in auto sales, the report said retail sales rose by 0.2 percent in October after edging down by 0.1 percent in September. Ex-auto sales had been expected to increase by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, traders shrugged off a report from the Federal Reserve showing a steep drop in industrial production in October, as the decrease was partly due to the since-resolved strike at General Motors (GM).

Healthcare stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, resulting in a 2.2 percent jump by the Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index. The index ended the session at a new record closing high.

Significant strength was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The advance lifted the index to its best closing level in over three months.

Oil service stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 1.9 percent. The strength among oil service stocks came amid a notable increase by the price of crude oil.

Natural gas, steel, pharmaceutical and computer hardware stocks also turned in strong performances amid broad based buying interest.

Economy

NASD Bourse Rebounds as Unlisted Security Index Rises 1.27%

Published

3 minutes ago

26/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange expanded for the first session this week by 1.27 per cent on Wednesday, February 25.

This lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) above 4,000 points, with a 50.45-point addition to close at 4,025.25 points compared with the previous day’s 3,974.80 points, as the market capitalisation added N30.19 billion to close at N2.408 trillion versus Tuesday’s N2.378 trillion.

At the trading session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by N5.00 to trade at N100.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N95.00 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved by N4.18 to sell at N70.00 per unit versus N65.82 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc increased by 14 Kobo to trade at N1.59 per share compared with the previous day’s N1.45 per share.

However, the share price of Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 27 Kobo at midweek to close at N3.27 per unit, in contrast to the N3.30 per unit it was transacted a day earlier.

At the midweek session, the volume of securities went down by 25.3 per cent to 8.7 million units from 11.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 92.5 per cent to N80.7 million from N1.2 billion, and the number of deals slipped by 33.3 per cent to 32 deals from the preceding session’s 48 deals.

At the close of business, CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 34.1 million units exchanged for N2.0 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units traded for N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units valued at N478.0 million.

Resourcery Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.05 billion units valued at N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units sold for N478.0 million, and CSCS Plc with 34.1 million units worth N2.0 billion.

Economy

Investors Lose N73bn as Bears Tighten Grip on Stock Exchange

Published

1 hour ago

26/02/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The bears consolidated their dominance on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday, inflicting an additional 0.09 per cent cut on the market.

At midweek, the market capitalisation of the domestic stock exchange went down by N73 billion to N124.754 trillion from the preceding day’s N124.827 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 114.32 points to 194,370.20 points from 194,484.52 points.

A look at the sectoral performance showed that only the consumer goods index closed in green, gaining 1.19 per cent due to buying pressure.

However, sustained profit-taking weakened the insurance space by 3.79 per cent, the banking index slumped by 2.07 per cent, the energy counter went down by 0.24 per cent, and the industrial goods sector shrank by 0.22 per cent.

Business Post reports that 25 equities ended on the gainers’ chart, and 54 equities finished on the losers’ table, representing a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.

RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N10.35, ABC Transport crashed by 10.00 per cent to N6.75, SAHCO depreciated by 9.98 per cent to N139.35, Haldane McCall gave up 9.93 per cent to trade at N3.99, and Vitafoam Nigeria decreased by 9.93 per cent to N112.50.

Conversely, Jaiz Bank gained 9.95 per cent to settle at N14.03, Okomu Oil appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N1,765.00, Trans-nationwide Express chalked up 9.77 per cent to close at N2.36, Fortis Global Insurance moved up by 9.72 per cent to 79 Kobo, and Champion Breweries rose by 5.39 per cent to N17.60.

Yesterday, 1.4 billion shares worth N46.2 billion were transacted in 70,222 deals compared with the 1.1 billion shares valued at N53.4 billion traded in 72,218 deals a day earlier, implying a rise in the trading volume by 27.27 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 13.48 per cent and 2.76 per cent, respectively.

Fortis Global Insurance ended the session as the busiest stock after trading 193.7 million units for N152.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 120.7 million units worth N11.1 billion, Japaul exchanged 114.8 million units valued at N407.0 million, Ellah Lakes sold 98.4 million units worth N999.2 million, and Access Holdings traded 63.1 million units valued at N1.7 billion.

Economy

Naira Extends Losing Streak, Falls to N1,356/$1 at NAFEX

Published

2 hours ago

26/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

A 74 Kobo or 0.05 per cent decline was recorded by the Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, February 25, trading at N1,356.11/$1 compared with the N1,355.37/$1 it was traded on Tuesday.

The Nigerian currency also further depreciated against the Pound Sterling during the session in the official market by N6.70 to settle at N1,834.96/£1 versus the preceding day’s rate of N1,828.26/£1, and against the Euro, it tumbled by N4.94 to quote at N1,598.59/€1 compared with the previous session’s N1,596.36/€1.

In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira lost N6 against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk to close at N1,367/$1, in contrast to N1,361/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier, and in the parallel market, it traded flat at N1,365/$1.

The continuation of the decline of the local currency has been tied to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) buying US Dollars from the market to slow the rapid rise of the Naira.

The apex bank bought about $189.80 million to reduce excess Dollar supply and control how fast the Naira was gaining value.

The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the CBN on Tuesday reduced interest rates by 50 basis points to 26.50 per cent from 27 per cent after inflation eased in January 2026, a move analysts say is the best not to unsettle FX market, especially the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI_ inflows which have anchored much of the recent supply and weakened the recently restored monetary credibility.

“The 50bps move therefore provides a clear directional signal while still keeping overall monetary conditions restrictive, indicating the start of a shallow, data-dependent easing cycle rather than a radical shift to accommodative policy,” said Mr Kayode Akindele, CEO, Coronation Capital and Head, Coronation Research in an email.

As for the cryptocurrency market, benchmarked tokens rebounded in double digits, driven by bearish positioning and thin liquidity rather than by clear fundamental catalysts, with Cardano (ADA) growing by 16.2 per cent to $0.3015, and Solana (SOL) appreciating by 12.3 per cent to $88.66.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) surged 11.9 per cent to $2,076.66, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 11.5 per cent to $57.15, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 11.5 per cent to $0.1025, Binance Coin (BNB) advanced by 7.6 per cent to $629.76, Ripple (XRP) jumped 7.2 per cent to $1.45, and Bitcoin (BTC) added 6.4 per cent to sell for $68,136.72, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.