Economy
Trump’s Higher Tariffs Threat on Chinese Goods Crashes Asian Stocks
By Investors Hub
Asian stock markets fell on Wednesday as risk appetite waned after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened higher tariffs on Chinese goods if a trade deal is not reached between the two countries.
Hopes for a trade deal further dimmed after the U.S. Senate passed legislation supporting protesters in Hong Kong. China has condemned the U.S. Senate measure.
Chinese shares closed lower amid rising U.S.-China tensions. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 22.94 points or 0.8 percent to finish at 2,911.05.
Hong Kong shares fell for the first time in three days. The Hang Seng Index tumbled 204.19 points or 0.8 percent to close at 26,889.61.
The Japanese market extended losses from the previous session and the safe-haven yen strengthened on fresh worries about a U.S.-China trade deal. Data showing Japan’s merchandise trade surplus for October missed expectations also dampened sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell 144.08 points or 0.6 percent to close at 23,148.57, while the broader Topix dropped 5.62 points or 0.3 percent to finish at 1,691.11.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group and Fast Retailing declined 1.2 percent each. The major exporters fell on a stronger yen. Sony lost 0.9 percent, Canon is dipped 1.3 percent, Mitsubishi Electric dropped 0.6 percent and Panasonic edged down less than 0.1 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron slipped 1.6 percent and Advantest fell 2.7 percent. Among auto stocks, Toyota Motor declined 0.9 and Honda Motor dropped 1.3 percent.
Among the major gainers, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma soared 6.9 percent, Rakuten rose 2.6 percent and M3 added 2.5 percent.
On the flip side, Nippon Yusen KK lost 4.2 percent, T&D Holdings dropped 4 percent and JGC Holdings fell 3.7 percent.
In economic news, the Ministry of Finance said Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 17.3 billion yen in October. That was well shy of expectations for a surplus of 301.0 billion yen following the 124.8 billion yen deficit in September.
Exports fell 9.2 percent year-over-year, missing forecasts for a drop of 7.5 percent following the 5.2 percent decline in the previous month. Imports were down an annual 14.8 percent versus expectations for a drop of 15.4 percent after dipping 1.5 percent a month earlier.
The Australian market closed notably lower, recording its worst day in nearly seven weeks amid fresh uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade deal and sharp losses in the banking sector.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 91.80 points or 1.4 percent to close at 6,722.40, while the broader All Ordinaries Index lost 85.80 points or 1.2 percent to settle at 6,828.30.
In the banking space, Westpac’s shares fell 3.3 percent after AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial intelligence agency, accused the lender of breaching money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws 23 million times.
ANZ Banking declined 2.1 percent, Commonwealth Bank dipped 1.3 percent and National Australia Bank lost 3.1 percent.
Among the major miners, BHP declined 0.6 percent and Rio Tinto fell 0.8 percent, while Fortescue Metals added 0.2 percent.
Oil stocks fell as crude oil prices tumbled overnight. Oil Search declined 1.8 percent, while Santos dropped 1.5 percent and Woodside Petroleum lost 1.3 percent.
Origin Energy raised the full-year production outlook for its Australia Pacific LNG project. However, the company’s shares dipped 0.6 percent.
Aristocrat Leisure reported a 29 percent increase in full-year profit and said it will pay a higher fully franked final dividend. The gambling giant’s shares gained 6 percent.
Lifescience and industrial testing company ALS gained 12.1 percent after reporting a 5.3 percent increase in its half-year profit.
Meanwhile, Saracen Mineral Holdings’ shares fell 10.6 percent after coming out of a trading halt following a A$701 million capital raising to fund its acquisition of a 50 percent stake in the Super Pit goldmine in Western Australia.
On the economic front, Australia’s leading index rose moderately in October, but it remained below trend, suggesting weak economic momentum carrying well into 2020, Westpac reported Wednesday.
The six-month annualized growth rate in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute leading index, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity relative to trend three to nine months into the future, increased to -0.91 percent in October from -1.01 percent in September.
Seoul stocks fell for the third straight day amid fresh worries about a U.S.-China trade deal. The benchmark Kospi lost 27.92 points or 1.3 percent to settle at 2,125.32.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 2.8 percent and chipmaker SK hynix dropped 3.1 percent. Automaker Hyundai Motor edged down 0.4 percent.
By Dipo Olowookere
Investors at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited have continued to show excitement for the full-year earnings of companies on the exchange so far.
On Friday, Customs Street further appreciated by 1.01 per cent as more organization released their financial statements for the 2025 fiscal year.
During the session, traders continued their selective trading strategy, with the energy sector going up by 2.47 per cent at the close of business despite profit-taking in the banking counter, which saw its index down by 0.11 per cent.
Yesterday, the insurance space grew by 2.16 per cent, the industrial goods segment expanded by 1.70 per cent, and the consumer goods industry jumped by 0.42 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,722.13 points to 171,727.49 points from 170,005.36 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N1.106 trillion to N110.235 trillion from the N109.129 trillion it ended on Thursday.
Business Post reports that there were 59 appreciating stocks and 19 depreciating stocks on Friday, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The trio of Omatek, Deap Capital, and NAHCO gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N2.64, N6.82, and N136.40 apiece, as Zichis and Austin Laz appreciated by 9.98 per cent each to close at N6.72 and N5.40, respectively.
Conversely, The Initiates depreciated by 9.74 per cent to N19.45, DAAR Communications slumped by 7.32 per cent to N1.90, United Capital crashed by 6.55 per cent to N18.55, Coronation Insurance lost 5.71 per cent to quote at N3.30, and First Holdco shrank by 5.53 per cent to N47.00.
The activity chart showed an improvement in the activity level, with the trading volume, value, and number of deals up by 33.77 per cent, 93.27 per cent, and 10.63 per cent, respectively.
This was because traders transacted 953.8 million shares worth N43.1 billion in 51,005 deals compared with the 713.0 million shares valued at N22.3 billion traded in 46,104 deals a day earlier.
Fidelity Bank was the most active with 92.4 million units sold for N1.8 billion, Chams transacted 69.2 million units valued at N310.9 million, Deap Capital exchanged 59.1 million units worth N382.7 million, Access Holdings traded 57.2 million units valued at N1.3 billion, and Tantalizers transacted 48.6 million units worth N228.2 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira contracted against the United States Dollar on Friday by 13 Kobo or 0.01 per cent to N1,366.19/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) from the previous day’s value of N1,366.06/$1.
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian currency also depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday by N2.37 to N1,857.75/£1 from the N1,855.38/£1 it was traded on Thursday, and further depleted against the Euro by 57 Kobo to close at N1,612.52/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,611.95/€1.
In the same vein, the exchange rate for international transactions on the GTBank Naira card showed that the Naira lost N8 on the greenback yesterday to N1,383/$1 from the previous day’s N1,375/$1 and at the black market, the Nigerian currency maintained stability against the Dollar at N1,450/$1.
FX analysts anticipate this trend to persist, primarily influenced by increasing external reserves, renewed inflows of foreign portfolio investments, and a reduction in speculative demand.
In the short term, stability in the FX market is expected to continue, supported by policy interventions and improving market confidence.
Nigeria’s foreign reserves experienced an upward trajectory, increasing by $632.38 million within the week to $46.91 billion from $46.27 billion in the previous week.
The Dollar appreciation this week appears to be largely technical, serving as a correction to the substantial losses experienced from mid- to late January.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market slightly appreciated, with Bitcoin (BTC) climbing near $68,000, up nearly 5 per cent since hitting $60,000 late on Thursday after investor confidence in crypto’s utility as a store of value, inflation hedge, and digital currency faltered.
The sell-off extended beyond crypto, with silver plunging 15 per cent and gold sliding more than 2 per cent. US stocks also fell.
The latest recoup saw the price of BTC up by 4.7 per cent to $67,978.96, as Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 6.3 per cent to $2,021.10, and Ripple (XRP) surged by 9.5 per cent to $1.42.
In addition, Solana (SOL) grew by 7.3 per cent to $85.22, Cardano (ADA) added 6.1 per cent to trade at $0.2683, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 5.4 per cent to $0.0958, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 5.2 per cent to $53.50, and Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 2.3 per cent to $637.79, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher on Friday as traders worried that this week’s talks between the US and Iran had failed to reduce the risk of a military conflict between the two countries.
Brent crude futures traded at $68.05 a barrel after going up by 50 cents or 0.74 per cent, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures finished at $63.55 a barrel due to the addition of 26 cents or 0.41 per cent.
Iran and the US held negotiations in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on Friday to overcome sharp differences over Iran’s nuclear programme.
It was reported that the talks had ended with Iran’s foreign minister saying negotiators will return to their capitals for consultations and the talks will continue.
Regardless, the meeting kept investors anxious about geopolitical risk, as Iran wanted to stick to nuclear issues while the US wanted to discuss Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the region.
Any escalation of tension between the two nations could disrupt oil flows, since about a fifth of the world’s total consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, as does Iran, which is a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
According to Reuters, Iran objected to the presence of any US Central Command (CENTCOM) or other regional military officials, saying that would jeopardise the process.
The current confrontation was sparked by more than two weeks of unrest in Iran that saw authorities launch a deadly crackdown that killed thousands of civilians and shocked the world. As reports of the deaths trickled out of Iran, US President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran if any of the tens of thousands of protesters arrested were executed.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s planned oil exports could fall by as much as 35 per cent this month via its main route through Russia, as the country’s top oil company, Tengiz oilfield, slowly recovers from fires at power facilities in January.
ING analysts have pointed out Iran’s neighbour, Iraq, and a disagreement with the US as another bullish factor for oil prices. It seems Iraqi politicians favour Mr Nouri al-Maliki as the country’s next Prime Minister, but the US thinks Mr al-Maliki is too close to Iran. President Trump has already threatened the oil producer with consequences if he emerges as PM.
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