Economy
US Stocks Open Higher as Investors React to Economic Data
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a modestly higher opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside following the late-day pullback seen in the previous session.
Traders continue to digest the Federal Reserve?s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday, as the Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points and hinted at another rate hike this year and three more in 2019.
A slew of U.S. economic data may also impact trading on Wall Street, with a report from the Commerce Department showing a much bigger than expected jump in durable goods orders in the month of August.
After initially responding positively to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement, stocks came under pressure going into the close of trading on Wednesday. The major averages pulled back off their highs of the session and into negative territory.
The major averages ended the session just off their worst levels of the day. The Dow slid 106.93 points or 0.4 percent to 26,385.28, the Nasdaq dipped 17.10 points or 0.2 percent to 7,990.37 and the S&P 500 fell 9.59 points or 0.3 percent to 2,905.97.
Stocks initially moved higher after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 2 to 2.25 percent.
The accompany statement said data received since the Fed’s August meeting indicates the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising at a strong rate.
The central bank also reiterated that average job gains have been strong in recent months and noted annual inflation remains near 2 percent.
Traders seemed to react positively to the Fed removing word “accommodative” from its statement describing monetary policy as well as the fact the central bank’s projections for future rate hikes were largely unchanged from June.
The Fed’s projections for future rate hikes points to one more increase in rates this year and three rate hikes next year.
However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell later told reporters in his subsequent press conference that dropping “accommodative” from the statement does not signal a shift in the outlook for rates.
“The change does not signal any change in the likely path of policy,” Powell said. “Instead it is a sign that policy is proceeding in line with our expectations.”
Meanwhile, Powell also said it is not in the Fed’s forecasts to see inflation surprise to the upside when asked about what could lead the central bank to raise rates faster than currently anticipated.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing new home sales rebounded much more than expected in the month of August.
The report said new home sales soared by 3.5 percent to an annual rate of 629,000 in August after slumping by 1.6 percent to a revised rate of 608,000 in July. Economists had expected new home sales to rise by 0.5 percent.
Gold stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.9 percent. The weakness among gold stocks came amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal.
Notable weakness also emerged among energy stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent and 2 percent losses posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index, respectively.
Financial stocks also came under pressure as traders reacted to Powell’s comments, resulting in 1.5 percent drops by both the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index and the KBW Bank Index.
Utilities, commercial real estate, and steel stocks also came under pressure, contributing to the late-day pullback by the broader markets.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.
During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.
Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.
As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.
During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.
The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.
The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.
Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.
The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.
Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.
Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.
However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.
The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the market settling into a balance.
Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.
According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.
Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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