Economy
US Stocks Look to Regain Some Ground
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Friday, with stocks likely to regain some ground after moving mostly lower over the past few sessions.
Traders may look to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the recent pullback, although buying interest is likely to be relatively subdued amid lingering uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade deal.
Recent reports have suggested the signing of a phase one trade deal could be delayed until next year as U.S. and Chinese officials struggle to reach agreement on core issues.
The next round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods is set to take effect on December 15th, potentially complicating efforts to reach an agreement.
In remarks at Bloomberg?s New Economy Forum in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China wants to work toward a phase one agreement on the basis of mutual respect and equality but will fight back if necessary.
Xi met with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the forum, reportedly describing U.S.-China relations as being at a critical juncture
?China and the United States should step up communication on strategic concerns to avoid misjudgment and enhance mutual understanding,? Xi told Kissinger, according to China?s state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News this morning that a trade agreement with China is ?very close? and that the two economic superpowers have a ?very good chance to make a deal.?
After moving to the downside early in the session, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Thursday but largely maintained a negative bias. The major averages eventually ended the day modestly lower, adding to the losses posted on Wednesday.
The major averages finished the session in negative territory but off their worst levels of the day. The Dow slipped 54.80 points or 0.2 percent to 27,766.29, the Nasdaq dipped 20.52 points or 0.2 percent to 8,506.21 and the S&P 500 edged down 4.92 points or 0.2 percent to 3,103.54.
The continued weakness on Wall Street partly reflected renewed uncertainty about the U.S. and China finalizing a phase one trade deal.
On Wednesday, a report from Reuters said completion of a phase one U.S.-China trade deal could slide into next year.
Trade experts and people briefed on the talks told Reuters a deal is still elusive and negotiations may be getting more complicated.
Reuters said the delay in signing the deal comes as China presses for more extensive tariff rollbacks, and the Trump administration counters with heightened demands of its own.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he has not made a trade deal with China yet because Beijing is not “stepping up to the level that I want.”
Meanwhile, a report from the Wall Street Journal said China’s chief trade negotiator has invited his American counterparts to Beijing for a new round of face-to-face talks.
Citing people briefed on the matter, the WSJ said Chinese Vice Premier Liu He extended the invitation to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during a phone call late last week.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in unchanged in the week ended November 16th.
The report said initial jobless claims came in at 227,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 219,000 from the 225,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the unchanged figure, jobless claims are hovering at their highest level since hitting 229,000 in the week ended June 22.
A separate report released by the National Association of Realtors showed existing home sales in the U.S. rebounded by more than expected in the month of October.
NAR said existing home sales jumped by 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 5.46 million in October after tumbling by 2.5 percent to a revised rate of 5.360 million in September.
Economists had expected existing home sales to surge up by 1.4 percent compared to the 2.2 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.
Gold stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.2 percent. The sell-off by gold stocks came amid a notable decrease by the price of the precious metal.
Considerable weakness was also visible among commercial real estate stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent drop by the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index.
Semiconductor, computer hardware and housing stocks also moved notably lower, while energy stocks moved to the upside amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, President Bola Tinubu will present the 2025 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.
The size of the 2025 Appropriation Bill is about N47.9 trillion and would be presented to the parliament for approval.
Speaking at the plenary on Thursday, December 12, 2024, the President of the Senate, Mr Godswill Akpabio, said the presentation by Mr Tinubu would be at the chamber of the House of Representatives.
However, it is not certain if the lawmakers will pass the budget before December 31 to allow for a recent budget cycle of January to December.
Recall that on December 3, the senate approved the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) for 2025 to 2027.
This was after the President presented this the National Assembly on November 19 ahead of the consideration of the 2025 budget proposal.
In the MTEF/FSP, the government said it planned to borrow about N9.22 trillion from local and foreign sources to finance the budget deficit.
It pegged the crude oil benchmark at $75 per barrel and a daily oil production of 2.06 million barrels at an exchange rate of N1,400 to $1, and a targeted gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.4 percent.
At the plenary today, Mr Akpabio informed his colleagues that, “The President has made his intention known to the National Assembly to present the 2025 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on December 17, 2024.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria added 150,000 barrels per day to its crude production in November 2024 as it continues to pursue an ambitious 2 million barrels per day target.
According to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s oil production rose to 1.48 million barrels per day in November, up from 1.33 million barrels per day the previous month.
In its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), OPEC revealed that at 1.48 million barrels per day, it is the continent’s leading oil producer, surpassing Algeria’s 908,000 barrels per day and Congo’s 268,000 barrels per day.
Business Post reports that OPEC doesn’t account for condensates, which Nigeria’s accounts for in its broader 2 million barrels per day target.
Despite the surge in production levels, Nigeria is still under producing its 1.5 million barrels per day output quota under a deal involving OPEC and 10 other producers known as OPEC+.
OPEC said it relied on primary data gotten through direct communication, noting that secondary sources reported 1.417 million barrels per day as Nigeria’s crude production in November — up from 1.4 million barrels per day in October.
The data also shows that OPEC’s total oil production among its 12 members rose by 104,000 barrels per day in the month under review.
According to secondary sources, the total of the 12 OPEC countries’ crude oil production averaged 26.66 million barrels per day in November 2024.
“Crude oil output increased mainly in Libya, Iran, and Nigeria, while production in Iraq, Venezuela, and Kuwait decreased”, OPEC said.
“At the same time, total non-OPEC DoC crude oil production averaged 14.01 mb/d in November 2024, which is 219 tb/d higher, m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in Kazakhstan and Malaysia,” the organisation added.
In a related development, OPEC trimmed its 2024 and 2025 oil demand growth forecasts for the fifth time this year.
Now, the cartel expects the world’s oil demand growth at 1.61 million barrels per day from the previously 1.82 million barrels per day.
For 2025, OPEC says the world oil demand growth forecast is now at 1.45 million barrels per day, a 900,000 barrels per day cut from the previously expected 1.54 million barrels per day.
On the changes, OPEC says that the downgrade for this year owes to more bearish data received in the third quarter of 2024 while the projections for next year relate to the potential impact that will arise from US tariffs.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Afriland Properties Plc and Geo-Fluids Plc crashed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by a marginal 0.06 per cent on Wednesday, December 11 due to profit-taking activities.
The OTC securities exchange experienced a downfall at midweek despite UBN Property Plc posting a price appreciation of 17 Kobo to close at N1.96 per share, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1.79.
Business Post reports that Afriland Properties Plc slid by N1.14 to finish at N15.80 per unit versus the preceding day’s N16.94 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 1 Kobo to trade at N3.92 per share compared with the N3.93 it ended a day earlier.
At the close of transactions, the market capitalisation of the bourse, which measures the total value of securities on the platform, shrank by N650 million to finish at N1.055 trillion compared with the previous day’s N1.056 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went down by 1.86 points to wrap the session at 3,012.50 points compared with 3,014.36 points recorded in the previous session.
The alternative stock market was busy yesterday as the volume of securities traded by investors soared by 146.9 per cent to 5.9 million units from 2.4 million units, as the value of shares transacted by the market participants jumped by 360.9 per cent to N22.5 million from N4.9 million, and the number of deals increased by 50 per cent to 21 deals from 14 deals.
When the bourse closed for the day, Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units valued at N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units worth N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc, which is now listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after its exit from NASD, remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units sold for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 billion.
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