Economy

Trump, Earnings in Focus as Wall Street Heads for Sluggish Start

Published

9 years ago

25/01/2017

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Stocks look poised for a lacklustre start to trading on Tuesday. Investors are contemplating a new batch of earnings reports, including results from Yahoo! (YHOO) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).

Washington DC will continue to get some attention as well. Stocks fell Monday amid renewed concerns about protectionist policies under new President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, some fresh data on the housing market is due out later this morning.

Wall Street is still trying to predict how economic policy will go under the new Trump Administration. On Monday, the president told a meeting of corporate executives he plans to impose a major border tax, although he also promised a massive tax cut for the middle class and companies.

The president also signed an executive order to renegotiate NAFTA and is expected to sign an order indicating his intention to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Amid worries about protectionism, the S&P 500 fell on Monday, dipping 5 points, or 0.3%, to close at 2,265. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 26 points, or 0.1%, to end at 19,800. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 2 points to close at 5,552.

Stocks in Focus

Earnings news will dominate the corporate headlines for the next several weeks. On Tuesday, Yahoo! and Johnson & Johnson were among the biggest names likely to impact trading.

Yahoo reported a profit for the fourth quarter that trumped Wall Street estimates. The company also said it expects a delay in completion of the deal with Verizon Communications Inc.

On an adjusted basis, earnings rose to $0.25 per share from $0.13 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.21 per share.

Yahoo said now expects to close the sale of its core internet business to Verizon in the second quarter instead of the first quarter as earlier expected. The company cited “given work required to meet closing conditions” as the reason for the delay.

Johnson & Johnson reported solid fourth-quarter results, with adjusted earnings above market estimates. However, sales missed expectations, despite growth from last year.

The company also provided guidance for fiscal 2017. It said it expects higher earnings and sales for the year, but its forecast was below current market estimates.

Europe markets

European stocks held steady Tuesday after three days of losses. As in Asia, a weaker dollar boosted resource stocks. Meanwhile, investors waited for the U.K.’s Supreme Court decision on whether Prime Minister Theresa May needs parliamentary approval to trigger formal Brexit talks.

However, stocks pared early gains to turn flat after Markit’s flash composite PMI figures showed Eurozone business activity eased slightly in January.

The UK and Germany were each up about 0.2% in mid-day trading. France was showing a fractional loss.

Asia markets

Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Tuesday amid higher commodity prices, which were helped by a weaker dollar. Equity markets in the region also benefited from upbeat earnings results from Samsung Electronics.

Chinese shares closed off their day’s highs in thin trading as investors moved to the sidelines ahead of holidays. The Shanghai Composite rose 5.78 points, or 0.18%, to 3,142.55.

Japanese shares extended losses from the previous session, hit by a firmer yen. The Nikkei average dropped 103.04 points, or 0.55%, to 18,787.99.

Currency and Commodities Markets

Gold futures were lower Tuesday morning, trimming strong gains from the previous session.

A murky rate hike outlook and concerns about U.S. trade relations drove gold to the highest in ten weeks Monday, but traders are waiting on a slew of second-tier economic data this morning.

March gold was down $2.30 at $1216 an ounce.

Crude oil futures were little changed Tuesday as traders await further clues about the pace of U.S. production.

The American Petroleum Institute reports weekly inventories this afternoon, followed tomorrow by the Energy Information Administration.

The EIA last week reported a large build in U.S. stockpiles. WTI light sweet crude oil was up 10 cents at $52.85 a barrel.

Investors Hub

Economy

NASD Exchange Extends Bearish Run After 0.56% Drop

Published

19 hours ago

03/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.

This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.

It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.

MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.

On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.

Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.

GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.

The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Slips to N1,380/$1 at Official Market, Remains N1,405/$1 at Black Market

Published

19 hours ago

03/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.

However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.

Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.

Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.

This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.

The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.

Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.

Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Bulls, Bears Share Customs Street’s Spoils Amid Bullish Investor Sentiment

Published

19 hours ago

03/04/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.

Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.

Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.

Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.

On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.

The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.

Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.

Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.