Economy

US Stocks May Trade Rough on Uncertainty About Tax Bill

Published

8 years ago

01/12/2017

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Friday following the strong upward move seen in the previous session. Traders may be reluctant to make any significant moves amid uncertainty about the prospects for the Senate Republican tax reform bill.

Optimism about passage of the bill contributed to the strength seen on Thursday, although GOP leaders were forced to delay a final vote after the legislation hit a snag.

Reports suggest the Senate parliamentarian ruled against the so-called “trigger” proposed by Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., which would raise taxes if the economic growth generated by the tax cuts does not offset the cost.

The latest reports suggest that Republicans have rounded up enough votes to pass a revised bill, with a series of roll call votes scheduled for 11 am ET.

The outcome of the final vote on the tax reform bill is likely to have a major impact on the markets, as optimism about a corporate tax rate cut has been a key driver behind the run by stocks to new record highs.

Following the mixed performance seen on Wednesday, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. With the upward move on the day, the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The major averages finished the day firmly in positive territory but off their highs of the session. The Dow surged up 331.67 points or 1.4 percent to 24,272.35, the Nasdaq climbed 49.58 points or 0.7 percent to 6,873.97 and the S&P 500 advanced 21.51 points or 0.8 percent to 2,647.58.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected optimism about the outlook for tax reform after Senate Republicans cleared a key procedural hurdle.

The Senate voted 52 to 48 along party lines on Wednesday to begin formal debate on the GOP tax reform bill after negotiations convinced Republican holdouts to vote for the legislation.

The approval of the procedural motion sets the stage for a final Senate vote on the tax reform bill late Thursday or early Friday.

Adding to the optimism about the passage of the bill, Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., announced he would support the legislation.

Upbeat economic data may also have generated some buying interest, with a Labor Department report showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 25th.

The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 238,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 240,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 240,000 from the 239,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed personal income increased by slightly more than expected in October, while personal spending rose in line with estimates.

The report said personal income climbed by 0.4 percent in October, matching the increase seen in September. Economists had expected income to rise by 0.3 percent.

The Commerce Department also said personal spending rose by 0.3 percent in October after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.9 percent in September.

Economists had expected spending to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 1.0 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, MNI Indicators released a report showing a modest slowdown in the pace of growth in Chicago-area business activity in the month of November.

Extending the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions, transportation stocks moved sharply higher on the day. The Dow Jones Transportation Average surged up by 2 percent to a record closing high.

Southwest Airlines (LUV), Union Pacific (UNP), and C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) turned in some of the sector’s best performances.

Significant strength was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The strength in the sector came as OPEC and other oil exporters agreed to extend an agreement limiting production through 2018.

Biotechnology stocks also turned in a strong performance, resulting in a 1.8 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in over a month.

Natural gas, software and retail stocks also saw notable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Economy

Nigerian Stocks Chalk up 0.08% on Bullish Sentiment

Published

2 hours ago

07/03/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The last trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a positive note, as it rallied by 0.08 per cent on Friday.

This was buoyed by strong investor sentiment due to renewed buying pressure, which left 35 stocks on the gainers’ chart, as 33 stocks ended on the losers’ log, indicating a positive market breadth index.

According to data, Eterna gained 10.00 per cent to close at N42.35, Union Dicon appreciated by 9.70 per cent to N16.40, John Holt grew by 9.25 per cent to N9.45, Tantalizers rose by 8.41 per cent to N4.64, and Fidson expanded by 7.27 per cent to N88.50.

Conversely, RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N12.06, SCOA Nigeria retreated by 9.96 per cent to N34.35, ABC Transport receded by 9.96 per cent to N6.25, Mecure crashed by 9.96 per cent to N61.50, and Berger Paints declined by 9.93 per cent to N66.65.

Business Post observed that the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.20 per cent yesterday, while the energy index improved by 0.19 per cent.

However, the insurance counter fell by 0.61 per cent, the consumer goods segment shed 0.56 per cent, and the banking industry depreciated by 0.11 per cent.

The All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 161.00 points on Friday to 196,968.15 points from 196,807.15 points on Thursday, while the market capitalisation went down by N119 billion to N126.437 trillion from N126.318 trillion.

A total of 586.2 million units of shares worth N30.6 billion were transacted in 62,699 deals during the trading day versus the 634.0 million shares valued at N29.1 billion traded in 66,286 deals a day earlier, showing a jump in the trading value by 5.16 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 7.54 per cent and 5.41 per cent, respectively.

The activity chart was led by First Holdco with 43.9 million units worth N2.3 billion, Access Holdings exchange 43.2 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 40.0 million units for N3.7 billion, GTCO sold 38.9 million units worth N4.6 billion, and Jaiz Bank traded 31.5 million units valued at N323.4 million.

Economy

Five Price Gainers Lift NASD Index by 0.22% as Market Cap Adds N5.6bn

Published

3 hours ago

07/03/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange went up by 0.22 per cent on Friday, March 6, as a result of the rise in the share prices of five securities on the platform.

During the session, the market capitalisation of the bourse added N5.60 billion to close at N2.519 trillion versus the preceding session’s N2.513 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 9.35 points to 4,256.41 points from 4,256.41 points.

The five price gainers were led by 11 Plc, which gained N29.02 to close at N319.25 per unit versus Thursday’s closing value of N290.23 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.19 to N81.35 per share from N80.16 per share, Nipco Plc increased by N1.00 to N285.00 per unit from N284.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by 72 Kobo to N125.20 per share from N124.48 per share, and UBN Property Plc improved by 19 Kobo to N2.17 per unit from N1.98 per unit.

On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc lost N20.00 to settle at N230.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N250.00 per share, NASD Plc declined by N5.21 to N51.00 per unit from N56.21 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc declined by 21 Kobo to N1.90 per share from N2.11 per share.

The volume of securities traded by market participants went down by 10.6 per cent yesterday to 3.4 million units from 3.8 million units, and the value of securities dropped 85.3 per cent to close at N62.4 million versus N423.3 million, while the number of deals jumped 4.8 per cent to 44 deals from 42 deals.

CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 37.2 million units valued at N2.3 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 3.4 million units sold for N506.8 million.

Resourcery Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units traded for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 123.1 million units transacted for N481.6 million, and CSCS Plc with 37.2 million units worth N2.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Loses N5.82 at NAFEX to Sell N1,393/$1

Published

3 hours ago

07/03/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

For another week, the Naira closed without recording a gain against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), as FX demand pressure continues to mount.

On Friday, the country’s legal tender further depreciated against the greenback by N5.82 or 0.42 per cent to trade at N1,393.26/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,387.45/$1.

Also, the local currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market segment yesterday by N7.61 to close at N1,859.99/£1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,852.38/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N1.58 to settle at N1,611.49/€1, in contrast to the N1,609.86/€1 it was traded a day earlier.

In the same vein, the Naira declined against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk by N12 during the session to quote at N1,410/$1 versus the previous session’s rate of N1,398/$1, and at the parallel market, it lost N10 to sell for N1,415/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,405/$1.

The domestic currency continued its decline despite $300 million in FX intervention sales to banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), indicating that the rising demand for foreign payments is outpacing supply. However, worries have heightened as the Naira is entering a threshold that has not previously created panic.

In the international market, the US Dollar held broadly steady and saw its steepest weekly gain in more than a year as the escalating conflict in the Middle East drove demand for safe-haven assets. This creates pressure on other currencies.

This also affected the cryptocurrency market. As tensions escalated in the Middle East last week, investors moved quickly to the safety of the US Dollar, which strengthened as markets began pricing in higher energy prices and reignited inflation fears, potentially delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 4.9 per cent to $1,975.54, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 4.8 per cent to $84.08, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 4.3 per cent to sell for $67,725.27, Cardano (ADA) slumped 4.2 per cent to $0.2527, and Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.4 per cent to $53.55.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 3.2 per cent to $0.0906, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped 2.9 per cent to $626.32, and Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.6 per cent to $1.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.