Economy

Trade Talks Uncertainty Weigh on Wall Street

Published

6 years ago

07/10/2019

Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Monday, with stocks likely to give back ground following the rally seen last Friday.

Lingering concerns about the ongoing U.S.-China trade war may weigh on the markets ahead of the next round of high-level trade talks in Washington later this week.

Ahead of the talks, scheduled to begin on Thursday, a report from Bloomberg News said Chinese officials are signaling they?re increasingly reluctant to agree to the broad trade deal being pursued by President Donald Trump.

Citing people familiar with the discussions, Bloomberg said senior Chinese officials have indicated the range of topics they?re willing to discuss has narrowed considerably.

An offer from Chinese Vice Premier Liu He would purportedly not include reforming Chinese industrial policy or government subsidies.

The upcoming negotiations come as the trade war continues to hang over the economy, with a survey by the National Association for Business Economics showing 53 percent of economists see trade policy as the key downside risk to the economy.

The NABE said four out of five panelists believe that risks to the economic outlook are weighted to the downside, an increase from the 60 percent who held this view in June.

?The panel turned decidedly more pessimistic about the outlook over the summer, with 80% of participants viewing risks to the outlook as tilted to the downside,? said Survey Chair Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.

He added, ?The rise in protectionism, pervasive trade policy uncertainty, and slower global growth are considered key downside risks to U.S. economic activity.?

Following the significant rebound seen over the course of the trading day last Thursday, stocks showed another substantial move to the upside during trading last Friday. With the rally, the major averages further offset the steep losses posted last Tuesday and Wednesday.

The major averages finished the session just off their best levels of the day. The Dow soared 372.68 points or 1.4 percent to 26,573.72, the Nasdaq surged up 110.21 points or 1.4 percent to 7,982.47 and the S&P 500 spiked 41.38 points or 1.4 percent to 2,952.01.

For the week, the major averages turned in a mixed performance. While the Nasdaq rose by 0.5 percent, the S&P 500 fell by 0.3 percent and the Dow slid by 0.9 percent.

The rally on Wall Street came following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing weaker than expected job growth but an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate to a nearly 50-year low.

The mixed data seemed to serve the dual purpose of reinforcing expectations the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates while at the same offsetting concerns about a potential recession.

The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 136,000 jobs in September compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 145,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the increases in employment in July and August were upwardly revised to 166,000 jobs and 168,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting the addition of 45,000 more jobs than previously reported.

The average monthly job growth has still slowed from 223,000 jobs per month in 2018 to 161,000 jobs per month so far in 2019.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent in September from 3.7 percent in August. Economists had expected to unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

With the unexpected decrease, the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since hitting a matching rate in December of 1969.

The unexpected drop in the unemployment rate came as a 391,000-person jump in the household survey measure of employment more than offset an 117,000-person increase in the size of the labor force.

Even with the unemployment rate hitting a nearly 50-year low, the report said average hourly employee earnings edged down by a penny to $28.09 in September after rising by 11 cents in August.

Compared to the same month a year ago, average hourly earnings were up by 2.9 percent in September, reflecting a notable slowdown from the 3.2 percent increase in August.

Citing headwinds from weaker global growth, trade uncertainty and the strong U.S. dollar, ING Chief International Economist James Knightley expects job growth to average closer to 120,000 for the rest of the year.

“This suggests pay growth is unlikely to accelerate markedly from here and with inflation picking up, the real wage growth story may not be as positive for spending power,” Knightley said. “All in all, it looks as though the Fed will need to step in with more policy easing to support the economy.”

Stocks saw further upside in afternoon trading after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell described the U.S. economy as “in a good place,” and said it is the central bank’s job to “keep it there as long as possible.”

Gold stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.1 percent. The rally by gold stocks came despite a modest decrease by the price of the precious metal.

Significant strength also emerged among semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging up by 1.9 percent.

Financial, housing, software, and healthcare stocks also saw considerable strength amid broad based buying interest on Wall Street.

Economy

NBA Demands Suspension of Controversial Tax Laws

Published

19 hours ago

24/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.

In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.

To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”

“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.

It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”

“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.

“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.

“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.

“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.

Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

Published

20 hours ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.

The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.

Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.

Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.

The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.

By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

Published

21 hours ago

24/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.

The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.

Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.

Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.

At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.

VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.

In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.