Economy

Trade, Geopolitical Concerns May Lead to Pullback on Wall Street

Published

8 years ago

24/05/2018

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday following the rebound seen over the course of the previous session.

Lingering trade concerns may weigh on the markets following President Donald Trump?s recent comments downplaying expectations for a trade deal with China.

Potentially adding to the trade concerns, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has initiated an investigation into whether imports of automobiles and parts threaten to impair U.S. national security.

?There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry,? Ross said in a statement.

He added, ?The Department of Commerce will conduct a thorough, fair, and transparent investigation into whether such imports are weakening our internal economy and may impair the national security.?

Continued uncertainty about the planned meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may also generate some selling pressure.

North Korean vice foreign minister Choe Son-hui raised the possibility of canceling the historic summit following what she called ?ignorant and stupid? comments by Vice President Mike Pence.

?Whether the U.S. will meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is entirely dependent upon the decision and behavior of the United States,? Choe said, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

She added, ?In case the U.S. offends against our goodwill and clings to unlawful and outrageous acts, I will put forward a suggestion to our supreme leadership for reconsidering the DPRK-U.S. summit.?

Stocks showed a notable turnaround over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after coming under pressure early in the session. The major averages climbed into positive territory following the release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.

The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Dow edged up 52.40 points or 0.2 percent to 24,886.81, the Nasdaq climbed 47.50 points or 0.6 percent to 7,425.96 and the S&P 500 rose 8.85 points or 0.3 percent to 2,733.29.

The upward move seen late in the session came as the minutes of the Fed’s monetary policy meeting earlier this month were seen as dovish.

The minutes showed some uncertainty about the outlook for inflation, with some questioning whether the rate of inflation will be sustained at the Fed’s 2 percent target.

Others noted a temporary period of inflation modestly above 2 percent would be consistent with the Fed’s symmetric inflation objective.

“While the economy is generally viewed as being strong by just about everyone, there remains uncertainty about inflation and therefore the path of interest rates,” said Joel L. Naroff, President and Chief Economist at Naroff Economic Advisors.

“The inflation hawks on the Fed seem to be outnumbered, at least right now, by the doves,” he added. “That does not mean there will not be a rate hike in June.”

The minutes said participants generally agreed with the assessment that continuing to raise interest rates gradually would likely be appropriate if the economy evolves about as expected.

“So, expect a hike in June,” Naroff said. “And if inflation continues to accelerate as the economy grows more strongly, additional increases this year are likely.”

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a pullback in new home sales in the month of April.

The report said new home sales fell by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 662,000 in April after jumping by 2 percent to a revised rate of 672,000 in March.

Economists had expected new home sales to drop to a rate of 679,000 from the 694,000 originally reported for the previous month.

The weakness seen earlier in the session partly reflected a negative reaction to earnings news from retail giant Target (TGT).

Shares of Target slumped by 5.7 percent after the company reported first quarter results that missed analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Gold stocks moved notably higher over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 1.5 percent. The index rebounded after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in well over a month.

The strength among gold stocks came as the price of the precious metal turned positive in electronic trading.

Considerable strength also emerged among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Retail Index. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in well over three months.

Tobacco, real estate, and utilities stocks also moved to the upside, while significant weakness remained visible among steel and telecom stocks.

Economy

NASD Exchange Extends Bearish Run After 0.56% Drop

Published

2 days ago

03/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.

This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.

It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.

MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.

On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.

Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.

GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.

The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Slips to N1,380/$1 at Official Market, Remains N1,405/$1 at Black Market

Published

2 days ago

03/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.

However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.

Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.

Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.

This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.

The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.

Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.

Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Bulls, Bears Share Customs Street’s Spoils Amid Bullish Investor Sentiment

Published

2 days ago

03/04/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.

Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.

Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.

Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.

On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.

The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.

Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.

Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.