Economy

Traders Focus on Washington Ahead of Key Vote

Published

9 years ago

27/03/2017

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Monday, with stocks likely to extend the pullback seen last week. The downward momentum on Wall Street comes amid weakness overseas following the decision by Republican leaders to withdraw their bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.

With traders keeping a close eye on developments on Capitol Hill, stocks saw some volatility over the course of the trading session on Friday. The major averages eventually ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

While the Nasdaq crept up 11.04 points or 0.2 percent to 5,828.74, the Dow fell 59.86 points or 0.3 percent to 20,596.72 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.98 points or 0.1 percent to 2,343.98.

Despite the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all moved notably lower for the week. The Dow slumped by 1.5 percent, the Nasdaq slid by 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 tumbled by 1.4 percent.

The volatility on Wall Street came as the House prepared to vote on a Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Late in the trading day, House Republican leaders decided to withdraw the bill amid indications of a lack of support.

The move came despite vigorous efforts by President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to build support for the legislation.

A number of more conservative lawmakers opposed the bill amid criticism that it did not go far enough to repeal the provisions of Obamacare.

Moderate Republicans were also concerned about predictions the plan would cause millions of people to lose their insurance.

Even if the Republican healthcare bill had been approved by the House, the legislation was expected to face an even tougher uphill battle in the Senate.

The inability to advance the bill could cast doubt on Trump’s ability to deliver on promises of increased infrastructure spending, tax cuts and deregulation.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a bigger than expected increase in durable goods orders in the month of February.

The report said durable goods orders jumped by 1.7 percent in February after surging up by a revised 2.3 percent in January.

Economists had expected orders to climb by 1.2 percent compared to the 2.0 percent spike that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.4 percent in February after edging up by 0.2 percent in January. The increase fell short of estimates for 0.6 percent growth.

Extending the trend seen over the past few sessions, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.

Steel stocks saw considerable weakness, however, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index slumping by 1.4 percent. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in well over two months.

On the other hand, airline stocks moved notably higher, resulting in a 1 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings (HA) posted a standout gain.

Economy

NASD OTC Exchange Rallies 0.23% as Nipco Leads Six Advancers

Published

5 minutes ago

27/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Six price gainers helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange retain its stay in green territory after a 0.23 per cent appreciation on Thursday, February 26.

The price gainers were led by Nipco Plc, which added N25.00 to close at N278.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N253.00 per share, NASD Plc rose by N5.13 to N56.41 per unit versus N51.28 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc expanded by N2.24 to N102.44 per share from N100.00 per share, Afriland Properties Plc grew by 88 Kobo to N18.88 per unit from N18.00 per unit, 11 Plc increased by 35 Kobo to N277.00 per share from N276.65 per share, and Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc gained 27 Kobo to close at N3.75 per unit versus N3.48 per unit.

On the flip side, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc lost N1.75 to sell at N68.25 per share versus N70.00 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 2 Kobo to N3.25 per unit from N3.27 per unit.

The weight of the advancers fortified the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.21 points to 4,034.46 points from 4,025.25 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N5.51 billion to N2.413 trillion from Wednesday’s N2.408 trillion.

Yesterday, the transaction value jumped by 18.8 per cent to N102.8 million from N80.7 million, and the number of deals surged by 18,8 per cent to 38 deals from 32 deals, while the transaction volume went down by 84.9 per cent to 1.3 million units from 8.7 million units.

At the close of business, CSCS Plc was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 34.2 million units worth N2.04 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units sold for N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.1 million units valued at N478.2 million.

Resourcery Plc remained as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units exchanged for N408.7 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.1 million worth N478.2 million, and CSCS Plc with 34.2 million units traded for N2.04 billion.

Economy

Naira Down Again at NAFEX, Trades N1,359/$1

Published

1 hour ago

27/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further weakened against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) for the fourth straight session this week on Thursday, February 26.

At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian Naira lost N3.71 or 0.27 per cent to trade at N1,359.82/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,356.11/$1.

In the same vein, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window on Thursday by N8.27 to close at N1,843.23/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,834.96/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N8.30 to quote at N1,606.89/€1, in contrast to the midweek’s closing price of N1,598.59/€1.

But at the GTBank forex desk, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar remained unchanged at N1,367/$1, and also at the parallel market, it maintained stability at N1,365/$1.

The continuation of the decline of the Nigerian currency is attributed to a surge in foreign payments that have outpaced the available Dollars in the FX market.

In a move to address the ongoing shortfall at the official window, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened by selling $100 million to banks and dealers on Tuesday.

However, the FX support failed to reverse the trend, though analysts see no cause for alarm, given that the authority recently mopped up foreign currency to achieve balance and it is still within the expected trading range of N1,350 and N1,450/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens posted losses over the last 24 hours as traders continued to de-risk alongside equities following Nvidia’s earnings-driven pullback, with Ripple (XRP) down by 2.7 per cent to $1.40, and Dogecoin (DOGE) down by 1.6 per cent to $0.0098.

Further, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 1.3 per cent to $55.87, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 0.9 per cent to $2,036.89, Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $67,708.21, Cardano (ADA) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $0.2924, and Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.4 per cent to $87.22, while Binance Coin (BNB) gained 0.4 per cent to sell for $629.95, with the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closing flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Crude Oil Falls as Geopolitical Risk Around Iran Clouds Supply Outlook

Published

2 hours ago

27/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Crude oil settled lower on Thursday as investors tracked developments in talks between the United States and Iran over the latter’s nuclear programme, weighing potential supply concerns if hostilities escalate.

Brent crude futures lost 10 cents or 0.14 per cent to close at $70.75 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures depreciated by 21 cents or 0.32 per cent to $65.21 a barrel.

The US and Iran held indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday over their long-running nuclear dispute to avert a conflict after US President Donald Trump ordered a military build-up in the region.

Prices had gained earlier in the session after media reports indicated the talks had stalled over US insistence on zero enrichment of uranium by Iran, as well as a demand for the delivery of all 60 per cent-enriched uranium to the US.

However, prices then retreated after the two countries extended talks into next week, reducing the immediate strike potential.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, who confirmed talks will continue next week, said Thursday’s talks were the most serious exchanges with the US yet, saying Iran clearly laid out its demand for lifting sanctions and the process for relief.

His counterpart from Oman, who is handling the talks, said significant progress was made in Thursday’s talks. The Omani minister’s upbeat assessment followed indirect talks between Iranian Foreign Minister and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva, with one session in the morning and the second in the afternoon.

He will also hold talks with US Vice President JD Vance and other US officials in Washington on Friday.

The Trump administration has insisted that Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups in the region must be part of the negotiations.

The American President said on February 19 that Iran must make a deal in 10 to 15 days, warning that “really bad things” would otherwise happen.

On Tuesday, he briefly laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech, underlining that while he preferred a diplomatic solution, he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Meanwhile, the US continues to amass forces in the Middle Eastern region, with the military saying it is prepared to execute orders given by the US President.