Economy

Trade Talk Progress Sparks Renewed Buying Interest

Published

6 years ago

07/11/2019

by investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to move to the upside after showing a lack of direction over the two previous sessions.

Stocks are likely to resume their recent advance after a spokesman for the Chinese Commerce Ministry said the U.S. and China have agreed to lift existing tariffs in phases.

?The trade war started with tariffs and should end with the cancellation of tariffs,? said ministry spokesman Gao Feng, who noted phase one of a trade deal must include both countries simultaneously canceling tariffs on each other?s goods.

The U.S. has widely been expected to scrap tariffs on about $156 billion worth of Chinese imports currently set to take effect on December 15th as part of phase one.

?Both sides have agreed to cancel additional tariffs in different phases, as both sides make progress in their negotiations,? Gao added without providing a timetable.

Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Wednesday, extending the lackluster performance seen on Tuesday. The major averages once again spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Eventually, the major averages ended the session mixed. While the S&P 500 inched up 2.16 points or 0.1 percent to 3,076.78, the Dow edged down 0.07 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 27,492.56 and the Nasdaq dipped 24.05 points or 0.3 percent to 8,410.63.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets after the recent run to record highs.

Optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal contributed to the strength on Wall Street, but traders now seem to be looking for more concrete developments.

Stocks moved to the downside after a report from Reuters said a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could be delayed until December, although selling pressure waned shortly afterward.

A senior Trump administration official told Reuters discussions continue over terms of phase one of the trade deal and a venue for a meeting between Trump and Xi.

Sites in Europe and Asia have been suggested for the meeting, with Sweden and Switzerland among the possibilities, while Trump’s suggestion of Iowa appears to have been ruled out, the official said.

The official said China’s latest push for more tariff rollbacks was not expected to derail progress toward an interim deal but noted that it was still possible an agreement would not be reached.

On the U.S. economic front, preliminary data released by the Labor Department showed labor productivity in the U.S. unexpectedly edged lower in the third quarter.

The report said labor productivity dipped by 0.3 percent in the third quarter after spiking by an upwardly revised 2.5 percent in the second quarter.

The drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected productivity to climb by 0.9 percent compared to the 2.3 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said unit labor costs soared by 3.6 percent in the third quarter after surging up by a downwardly revised 2.4 percent in the second quarter.

Economists had expected unit labor costs to jump by 2.2 percent compared to the 2.6 percent spike originally reported for the previous month.

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although energy stocks saw substantial weakness amid a significant pullback by the price of crude oil.

Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index plunged by 3.1 percent, while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index tumbled by 2.9 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.

Telecom stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index down by 1.8 percent. The index ended the session at its lowest closing level in ten months.

On the other hand, gold stocks showed a strong move to the upside, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging up by 1.6 percent. The strength among gold stocks came amid a rebound by the price of the precious metal.

Economy

CSCS, Afriland Properties, MRS Oil Weaken NASD Exchange by 1.12%

Published

46 minutes ago

09/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Three stocks further weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.12 per cent on Wednesday, April 8, with the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) down by 44.43 points to 3,930.91 points from the previous day’s 3,975.34 points, and the market capitalisation went down by N26.59 to N2.351 trillion from N2.378 trillion.

MRS Oil lost N11.00 during the session to close at N161.00 per share compared with Tuesday’s closing price of N172.00 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc dipped by N3.74 to N67.95 per unit from N71.69 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc fell by N1.10 to sell at N15.95 per share versus N17.05 per share.

There were two gainers at the midweek trading session, led by IPWA Plc, which appreciated by 55 Kobo to N6.61 per unit from N6.06 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc improved its value by 4 Kobo to N2.32 per share from N2.28 per share.

Yesterday, the volume of securities rose by 620.4 per cent to 5.7 million units from 797,264 units, the value of securities increased by 25.1 per cent to N32.7 million from N26.1 million, and the number of deals climbed by 12.1 per cent to 37 deals from the preceding session’s 33 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, trailed by CSCS Plc with 57.2 million units exchanged for N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.

GNI Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Grows 1.07% to N1,371/$1 at Official Market as FX Pressure Eases

Published

1 hour ago

09/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Foreign Exchange (FX) demand pressure eased on the Naira on Wednesday, April 8, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) after gaining N14.84 or 1.07 per cent against the greenback to quote at N1,371.82/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,386.66/$1.

Also, the local currency appreciated against the Euro in the same market window at midweek by N1.54 to close at N1,604.07/€1 versus Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,605.61/€1, but lost N6.26 against the Pound Sterling to trade at N1,844.83/£1 versus N1,838.57/£1.

In the parallel market, the exchange rate of the Naira to the US Dollar remained unchanged yesterday at N1,410/$1, according to data sourced by Business Post.

There were indicators that the official FX market experienced a liquidity surge, which eased worries around the dominant US Dollar on Wednesday, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed interbank deals rose to 220 from 71 reported the previous day.

The domestic currency has been in strong demand from foreign portfolio investors seeking to purchase OMO bills and other fixed-income instruments.

Forecasts also show that the local currency will remain relatively stable during the second quarter of the year, trading within the N1,340 to N1,430 per Dollar band on improved FX liquidity, stronger oil earnings, and rising external reserves, which have climbed above 50 billion dollars.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it fell after an initial ceasefire-fueled rally, with markets retracing Wednesday’s “ceasefire euphoria” as cracks emerge in the US-Iran truce while the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.

Global risk assets face renewed pressure as geopolitical uncertainty combines with what analysts call “uncoordinated tightening” by major central banks, reinforcing higher-for-longer interest-rate expectations.

The price of Cardano (ADA) fell by 4.7 per cent to $0.2500, Ripple (XRP) slumped 3.7 per cent to $1.33, Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 3.5 per cent to $0.0915, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped 2.6 per cent to $600.02, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 2.5 per cent to $2,183.82, Solana (SOL) dipped 2.5 per cent to $82.24, and Bitcoin (BTC) depreciated by 1.1 per cent to $70,995.20.

However, TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.4 per cent to $0.3173, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.

Economy

Customs Street Surges 0.28% Despite Persistent Weak Sentiment

Published

2 hours ago

09/04/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied by 0.28 per cent on Wednesday despite weak investor sentiment, as the bourse ended with 18 price gainers and 38 price losers, implying a negative market breadth index.

The growth recorded yesterday by Customs Street was influenced by the 2.11 per cent rise posted by the energy index, and the 1.79 per cent jump achieved by the banking sector.

The other sectors experienced profit-taking, with the consumer goods losing 1.07 per cent, the insurance counter down by 0.36 per cent, and the industrial goods space down by 0.19 per cent.

Universal Insurance chalked up 10.00 per cent to sell for N1.21, Omatek improved by 9.78 per cent to N2.47, VFD Group expanded by 9.71 per cent to N11.30, CWG appreciated by 9.64 per cent to N21.05, and Livestock Feeds gained 9.56 per cent to close at N7.45.

On the flip side, UPDC REIT lost 10.00 per cent to settle at N6.75, Fortis Global Insurance shed 9.92 per cent to quote at N1.18, Deap Capital depreciated by 9.85 per cent to N5.40, Chams went down by 9.47 per cent to N3.06, and Japaul declined by 8.82 per cent to N3.10.

Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 562.43 points to 202,585.53 points from 202,023.10 points, and the market capitalisation advanced by N389 billion to N130.404 trillion from N130.015 trillion.

During the session, 1.0 billion stocks worth N40.6 billion exchanged hands in 52,723 deals compared with the 1.1 billion stocks valued at N40.3 billion executed in 78,006 deals a day earlier, indicating an uptick in the trading value by 0.74 per cent, and a shortfall in the trading volume and number of deals by 9.09 per cent and 32.41 per cent apiece.

The activity chart was led by Access Holdings, which sold 233.0 million units valued at N6.1 billion, Fidelity Bank exchanged 113.1 million units worth N2.2 billion, Wema Bank recorded a turnover of 103.3 million units valued at N2.7 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 60.6 million units for N6.5 billion, and Chams traded 47.5 million units worth N154.6 million.