Economy

Trade War Once Again in Focus on Wall Street

Published

8 years ago

20/07/2018

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the pullback seen in the previous session.

Renewed trade war concerns may weigh on the markets after President Donald Trump indicated a willingness to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports to the U.S.

“I’m ready to go to 500,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC that aired this morning, apparently referring to the $505.5 billion of Chinese imports to the U.S. in 2017.

“I?’ not doing this for politics, I’m doing this to do the right thing for our country,” Trump said. “We have been ripped off by China for a long time.”

The Trump administration previously imposed tariffs of $34 billion worth of Chinese imports and has threatened to impose tariffs on another $200 billion worth of goods.

Trump argued the strength in the stock market since his election has allowed him to be more aggressive on trade, claiming, ?We?re playing with the bank?s money.”

Stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday, giving back some ground after trending higher over the past several sessions. The major averages moved to the downside early in the session and remained stuck in the red throughout the day.

The major averages ended the day firmly in negative territory. The Dow slid 134.79 points or 0.5 percent to 25,064.50, the Nasdaq fell 29.15 points or 0.4 percent to 7,825.30 and the S&P 500 dropped 11.13 points or 0.4 percent to 2,804.49.

Profit taking contributed to the pullback on Wall Street, as some traders cashed in on the upward move seen in recent sessions.

Recent strength in the markets lifted the Nasdaq to a record closing high on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 ended the previous session at its best closing level in over five months. The Dow also reached a monthly closing high.

A negative reaction to disappointing earnings news from several big-name companies also weighed on the markets on the day.

Shares of eBay (EBAY) moved sharply lower after the e-commerce giant reported better than expected second quarter earnings but provided disappointing full-year guidance.

Insurance giant Travelers (TRV) also came under pressure after reporting second quarter earnings below analyst estimates.

Shares of American Express (AXP) also moved to the downside after the credit card giant reported second quarter earnings that beat expectations but on weaker than expected revenues.

On the other hand, shares of IBM Corp. (IBM) jumped after the tech giant reported second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Traders were also reacting to comments by President Donald Trump, who said in an excerpt of an interview with CNBC that he is “not thrilled” with interest rate hikes by the Fed.

“I’m not thrilled,” Trump said in the interview set to air in full on Friday. “Because we go up and every time you go up they want to raise rates again. I don’t really ? I am not happy about it.”

At the same time, Trump noted he is letting the Fed do “what they feel is best,” and a subsequent statement from the White House said the president respects the independence of the central bank.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Labor Department showing initial jobless claims unexpectedly dropped to their lowest level in almost five decades in the week ended July 14th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 207,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 215,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000.

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

A separate report from the Conference Board also showed a slightly bigger than expected increase by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of June.

Steel stocks turned in some of the market’s worst performances on the day after moving sharply higher over the two previous sessions. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index slumped by 2 percent.

Considerable weakness was also visible among financial stocks, with the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index and the KBW Bank Index both falling by 1.4 percent.

Pharmaceutical, telecom, and gold stocks also moved notably lower, while natural gas, real estate, and housing stocks moved to the upside.

Economy

NRS Launches Unified Tax ID System

Published

4 hours ago

19/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has unveiled a unified Taxpayer Identification (Tax ID) system for all taxable persons across the country as part of efforts to strengthen tax administration and improve transparency.

The agency announced the development in a public notice issued jointly with the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) on Monday.

According to the notice, the initiative is backed by Sections 6, 7, and 8 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, which mandate every taxable person in Nigeria to obtain a Tax ID, in a wider move to expand the country’s tax base.

The NRS said the new framework is designed to create a centralised and harmonised taxpayer database that would enhance interactions between taxpayers and revenue authorities at both federal and sub-national levels.

“The Tax ID will serve as a single, unified identity for all taxpayers, enabling seamless interaction with tax authorities at both federal and sub-national levels. It is designed to consolidate taxpayer records, eliminate duplication, and ensure more efficient management of tax-related information,” the agency stated.

The revenue agency explained that the new system would simplify tax compliance procedures, including taxpayer registration, filing of returns, and payment processes.

According to the NRS, the framework is also expected to improve accountability and reduce leakages in tax collection by creating better visibility and tracking of taxpayer information nationwide.

“The initiative will simplify tax compliance processes, including registration, tax filing, and payment procedures. The system will improve transparency by enabling better visibility and tracking of taxpayer records while reducing leakages and improving accountability in tax collection. The framework will also harmonise taxpayer information across all levels of government,” the notice added.

The agency further disclosed that the new Tax ID system would replace the existing Tax Identification Number (TIN) Validation API currently used by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), financial institutions, and other organisations for taxpayer verification.

Economy

OTC Securities Exchange Falls 1.31% as Key Stocks Decline

Published

7 hours ago

19/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Three bellwether stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.31 per cent on Monday, May 18.

This brought the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 54.71 points to 4,133.70 points from 4,188.41 points, and shrank the market capitalisation by N32.73 billion to N2.473 trillion from N2.506 trillion.

Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc contracted by N12.45 to sell at N146.55 per share compared with last Friday’s closing price of N159.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N2.34 to N70.00 per unit from N72.34 per unit, and NASD Plc lost 50 Kobo to trade at N34.50 per share versus N35.00 per share.

The trio overpowered the N5.56 gained Newrest Asl Plc. This stock ended the trading session at N61.15 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N55.59 per unit.

During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by investors slid by 56.1 per cent to 514,142 units from 1.2 million units, and the value of securities dropped 29.8 per cent to close at N17.4 million versus N29.8 million, while the number of deals jumped 12.5 per cent to 27 deals from 24 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.

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

Economy

FX Pressure Pushes Naira Lower to N1,373/$1 at Official Market

Published

7 hours ago

19/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

It was a horrible day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, May 15, as its value further weakened against the United States Dollar.

In the black market window, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,385/$1, but at the GTBank forex counter, it remained unchanged at N1,383/$1.

In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N2.66 or 0.19 per cent to sell for N1,373.70/$1 compared to last Friday’s rate of N1,371.04/$1.

Equally, it fell against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.05 to trade at N1,839.66/£1 versus N1,830.61/£1, and lost N5.42 on the Euro to close at N1,600.49/€1 versus N1,595.07/€1.

The performance of the local currency during the session indicates early worries despite all signals pointing to stability, amid improved Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with steady, higher oil receipts to bolster the nation’s reserves.

Activity at the market showed that turnover rose 57.3 per cent to $76.29 million on Monday from $48.49 million posted on Friday.

Over the weekend, S&P raised Nigeria’s credit ratings for the first time since 2012 and highlighted improved FX market liquidity and $10 billion turnover recorded in April 2026 as one of the major gains of the CBN-led FX reforms.

The agency said the liberalisation of the exchange rate has bolstered access to foreign currency and enabled a market-driven exchange-rate environment while supporting investor and consumer confidence.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Monday as investors monitored developments in the Iran conflict and weighed the impact of surging oil prices on inflation and US interest-rate expectations.

Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $2,134.10, Cardano (ADA) rose by 0.6 per cent to $0.2515, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $85.11, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.2 per cent to $643.29, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.03 per cent to $0.3565, and Bitcoin (BTC) advanced by 0.02 per cent to $76,912.12.

On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.1044, and Ripple (XRP) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $1.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.