Economy

Trade War Concerns May Further Weigh on Wall Street

Published

8 years ago

02/03/2018

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a sharply lower opening on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the sell-off seen over the past few sessions.

The downward momentum on Wall Street comes as traders express concerns about the impact President Donald Trump?s plans to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will have on global trade.

Trump shrugged off the concerns in a post on Twitter early Friday morning, calling trade wars ?good? and ?easy to win?

?When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,? Trump said.

He added, ?Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don?t trade anymore-we win big. It?s easy!?

Following Trump?s announcement, several industry groups warned that the tariffs would lead to increased costs and hamper their ability to create jobs.

Stocks moved considerably lower during trading on Thursday, extending the sharp pullback seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages showed a lack of direction early in the day session but slid firmly into negative territory as the day progressed.

While the major averages climbed off their lows of the session, they still posted steep losses on the day. The Dow plummeted 420.22 points or 1.7 percent to 24,608.98, the Nasdaq tumbled 92.45 points or 1.3 percent to 7,180.56 and the S&P 500 slumped 36.16 points or 1.3 percent to 2,677.67.

The continued weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about a potential trade war after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Trump told metals industry executives at a White House meeting that he would sign an order formally imposing the new sanctions next week.

“Sometime next week we’ll be signing it in,” Trump said. “And you’re going to have protection for the first time in a long time.”

Trump indicated that he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports.

The tariffs are likely to benefit U.S. steel and aluminum producers, although some officials have warned of retaliation by the European Union and China.

Earlier in the day, traders kept a close eye on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s second day of testimony on Capitol Hill.

Powell testified before the Senate Banking Committee after his remarks before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday sparked fears the Fed may raise interest rates more than previously estimated.

The Fed chief added to uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates after telling the Senate committee there has not yet been strong evidence of a decisive increase in wages.

“We see wages by a couple of measures trending up a little bit, but most of them continuing to grow at two and a half percent,” Powell said.

“Nothing is suggesting to me that wage inflation is at a point of accelerating,” he added. “I would expect that some continued strengthening in the labor market can take place without causing inflation.”

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to a nearly fifty-year low.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 210,000 in the week ended February 24th, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 220,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 226,000.

With the unexpected decrease, initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 202,000 in December of 1969.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed personal income increased by slightly more than expected in the month of January, while personal spending rose in line with estimates.

The Commerce Department said personal income climbed by 0.4 percent in January, matching the increase seen in December. Economists had expected income to rise by 0.3 percent.

Additionally, the report said personal spending edged up by 0.2 percent in January after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in December.

Personal spending had been expected to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The Institute for Supply Management also released a report showing an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in the manufacturing sector in the month of February.

The ISM said its purchasing managers index climbed to 60.8 in February from 59.1 in January, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 58.7.

With the unexpected increase, the purchasing managers index reached its highest level since hitting 61.4 in May of 2004.

Most of the major sectors moved to the downside on the day, although particular weakness was visible among semiconductor stocks.

Reflecting the weakness in the semiconductor, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled by 1.6 percent. The index continued to give back ground after reaching a record intraday high on Tuesday.

Healthcare stocks also moved significantly lower, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index down by 1.5 percent.

Biotechnology, financial, and chemical stocks also saw notable weakness, while some strength was visible among natural gas, steel and gold stocks.

Economy

NBA Demands Suspension of Controversial Tax Laws

Published

23 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

1 day 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

1 day 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.