Economy

US Stocks May Lack Direction Ahead of Yellen Testimony

Published

8 years ago

10/07/2017

By Investors Hub

Major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Monday, with the Dow futures up by down by 28 points and the Nasdaq futures up by 4.5 points.

Traders may be reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s semiannual testimony before Congress.

Yellen is due to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

The comments from the Fed Chief could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the central bank’s monetary policy meeting later this month.

After showing a significant move to the downside last Thursday, stocks regained some ground during trading on Friday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rebounded after ending Thursday’s trading at their lowest closing levels in over a month.

The major averages finished the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow climbed 94.30 points or 0.4 percent to 21,414.34, the Nasdaq jumped 63.61 points or 0.1 percent to 6,153.08 and the S&P 500 advanced 15.43 points or 0.6 percent to 2,425.18.

For the holiday-interrupted week, the major averages moved modestly higher. While the Dow rose by 0.3 percent, the Nasdaq edged up by 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 inched up by 0.1 percent.

The rebound on Wall Street came following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing much stronger than expected job growth in the month of June.

The report said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 222,000 jobs in June following an upwardly revised increase of 152,000 jobs in May.

Economists had expected employment to climb by 179,000 jobs compared to the addition of 138,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Despite the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate inched up to 4.4 percent in June from 4.3 percent in May. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to hold steady.

The Labor Department also said average hourly employee earnings rose by 0.2 percent to $26.25. Average hourly earnings in June were up by 2.5 percent year-over-year.

“This was a strong jobs report, with a better-than-expected payroll rise augmented by a solid upward revision,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial.

He added, “Still, it should not add to the already considerable fire under the FOMC because wage pressures are nowhere to be seen, and labor slack relaxed unexpectedly.”

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to make its next decision on interest rates following a two-day meeting later this month.

Traders also kept an eye on developments out of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, where President Donald Trump held his first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters Trump and Putin had a “very robust and lengthy exchange” about alleged Russian meddling in last year’s presidential election.

Tillerson said Trump and Putin also reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Syria, which he called the first indication the countries can work together to curb the violence in the war-torn country.

Airline stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 2.6 percent. With the jump, the index reached its best closing level in over fifteen years.

SkyWest (SKYW), Ryanair (RYAAY) and Alaska Air (ALK) turned in some of the sector’s best performances in late-day trading.

Considerable strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index climbed further off the nearly two-month closing low set on Monday.

Networking also turned in a strong performance, resulting in a 1.4 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. The gain by the index came after it ended the previous session at its lowest closing level in over a month.

Internet, housing, and software stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while gold stocks came under pressure amid a slump by the price of the precious metal.

Economy

Customs Street Chalks up 0.12% on Santa Claus Rally

Published

4 hours ago

25/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited witnessed Santa Claus rally on Wednesday after it closed higher by 0.12 per cent.

Strong demand for Nigerian stocks lifted the All-Share Index (ASI) by 185.70 points during the pre-Christmas trading session to 153,539.83 points from 153,354.13 points.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation expanded at midweek by N118 billion to N97.890 trillion from the preceding day’s N97.772 trillion.

Investor sentiment on Customs Street remained bullish after closing with 36 appreciating equities and 22 depreciating equities, indicating a positive market breadth index.

Guinness Nigeria chalked up 9.98 per cent to trade at N318.60, Austin Laz improved by 9.97 per cent to N3.20, International Breweries expanded by 9.85 per cent to N14.50, Transcorp Hotels rose by 9.83 per cent to N170.90, and Aluminium Extrusion grew by 9.73 per cent to N16.35.

On the flip side, Legend Internet lost 9.26 per cent to close at N4.90, AXA Mansard shrank by 7.14 per cent to N13.00, Jaiz Bank declined by 5.45 per cent to N4.51, MTN Nigeria weakened by 5.21 per cent to N504.00, and NEM Insurance crashed by 4.74 per cent to N24.10.

Yesterday, a total of 1.8 billion shares valued at N30.1 billion exchanged hands in 19,372 deals versus the 677.4 billion shares worth N20.8 billion traded in 27,589 deals in the previous session, implying a slump in the number of deals by 29.78 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 165.72 per cent and 44.71 per cent apiece.

Abbey Mortgage Bank was the most active equity for the day after it sold 1.1 billion units worth N7.1 billion, Sterling Holdings traded 127.1 million units valued at N895.9 million, Custodian Investment exchanged 115.0 million units for N4.5 billion, First Holdco transacted 40.9 million units valued at N2.2 billion, and Access Holdings traded 38.2 million units worth N783.3 million.

Economy

Yuletide: Rite Foods Reiterates Commitment to Quality, Innovation

Published

4 hours ago

25/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigerian food and beverage company, Rite Foods Limited, has extended warm Yuletide greetings to Nigerians as families and communities worldwide come together to celebrate the Christmas season and usher in a new year filled with hope and renewed possibilities.

In a statement, Rite Foods encouraged consumers to savour these special occasions with its wide range of quality brands, including the 13 variants of Bigi Carbonated Soft Drinks, premium Bigi Table Water, Sosa Fruit Drink in its refreshing flavours, the Fearless Energy Drink, and its tasty sausage rolls — all produced in a world-class facility with modern technology and global best practices.

Speaking on the season, the Managing Director of Rite Foods Limited, Mr Seleem Adegunwa, said the company remains deeply committed to enriching the lives of consumers beyond refreshment. According to him, the Yuletide period underscores the values of generosity, unity, and gratitude, which resonate strongly with the company’s philosophy.

“Christmas is a season that reminds us of the importance of giving, togetherness, and gratitude. At Rite Foods, we are thankful for the continued trust of Nigerians in our brands. This season strengthens our resolve to consistently deliver quality products that bring joy to everyday moments while contributing positively to society,” Mr Adegunwa stated.

He noted that the company’s steady progress in brand acceptance, operational excellence, and responsible business practices reflects a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and responsiveness to consumer needs. These efforts, he said, have further strengthened Rite Foods’ position as a proudly Nigerian brand with growing relevance and impact across the country.

Mr Adegunwa reaffirmed that Rite Foods will continue to invest in research and development, efficient production processes, and initiatives that support communities, while maintaining quality standards across its product portfolio.

“As the year comes to a close, Rite Foods Limited wishes Nigerians a joyful Christmas celebration and a prosperous New Year filled with peace, progress, and shared success.”

Economy

Naira Appreciates to N1,443/$1 at Official FX Market

Published

4 hours ago

25/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira closed the pre-Christmas trading day positive after it gained N6.61 or 0.46 per cent against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, December 24, trading at N1,443.38/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,449.99/$1.

Equally, the Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N1.30 to close at N1,949.57/£1 versus Tuesday’s closing price of N1,956.03/£1 and gained N2.94 on the Euro to finish at N1,701.31/€1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,707.65/€1.

At the parallel market, the local currency maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,485/$1 and also traded flat at the GTBank forex counter at N1,465/$1.

Further support came as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) funded international payments with additional $150 million sales to banks and authorised dealers at the official window.

This helped eased pressure on the local currency, reflecting a steep increase in imports. Market participants saw a sequence of exchange rate swings amidst limited FX inflows.

Last week, the apex bank led the pack in terms of FX supply into the market as total inflows fell by about 50 per cent week on week from $1.46 billion in the previous week.

Foreign portfolio investors’ inflows ranked behind exporters and the CBN supply, but there was support from non-bank corporate Dollar volume.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it witnessed a slight recovery as tokens struggled to attract either risk-on enthusiasm or defensive flows.

The inertia follows a sharp reversal earlier in the quarter. A heavy selloff in October pulled Bitcoin and other coins down from record levels, leaving BTC roughly down by 30 per cent since that period and on track for its weakest quarterly performance since the second quarter of 2022. But on Wednesday, its value went up by 0.9 per cent to $87,727.35.

Further, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.7 per cent to $1.87, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 1.2 per cent to $0.3602, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.1 per cent to $0.1282, Litecoin (LTC) also increased by 1.1 per cent to $76.57, Solana (SOL) soared by 1.0 per cent to $122.31, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 0.6 per cent to $842.37, and Ethereum (ETH) added 0.3 per cent to finish at $2,938.83, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.