Economy
US Stocks Open Higher on Easing Trade Concerns
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside after turning lower over the course of the previous session.
Easing trade concerns may contribute to strength on Wall Street amid reports President Donald Trump might suspend threats to impose tariffs on cars imported from Europe if duties on U.S. cars are lifted.
Traders may also react to a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment increased by less than expected in the month of June.
After failing to sustain an initial move to the upside, stocks came under pressure over the course of the abbreviated trading session on Tuesday. 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 fell 132.36 points or 0.5 percent to 24,174.82, the Nasdaq slid 65.01 points or 0.9 percent to 7,502.67 and the S&P 500 dropped 13.49 points or 0.5 percent to 2,713.22.
The pullback by stocks came amid lingering trade concerns as tariffs on billions of dollars worth of U.S. and Chinese goods are set to take effect later this week.
In a move that could further inflame trade tensions between the U.S. and China, President Donald Trump’s administration has recommended blocking China Mobile from offering telecommunications services from within the U.S.
A statement from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, an agency of the Commerce Department, attributed the recommendation to national security concerns.
“After significant engagement with China Mobile, concerns about increased risks to U.S. law enforcement and national security interests were unable to be resolved,” said David Redl, NTIA Administrator and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information.
Redl said the NTIA subsequently recommends that the Federal Communications Commission deny China Mobile’s Section 214 license request.
Trading activity was light ahead of an earlier than normal close for the markets, with many traders looking to get a head start on the July 4th holiday.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected rebound in new orders for manufactured goods in the month of May.
The Commerce Department said factory orders climbed by 0.4 percent in May after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in April.
Economists had expected orders to come in unchanged compared to the 0.8 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
Semiconductor stocks showed a significant move to the downside over the course of the trading session, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 1.8 percent.
With the decrease on the day, the semiconductor index more than offset the modest gain posted in the previous session, falling to its lowest closing level in two months.
Considerable weakness also emerged among computer hardware and banking stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and the KBW Bank Index falling by 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, substantial strength remained visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The rally by gold stocks came amid a rebound by the price of the precious metal.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose further by 0.33 per cent on Thursday, January 23, as appetite for unlisted stocks continued to grow.
During the trading session, the value of the bourse went up by N7.6 billion to N1.767 trillion from the N1.76 trillion it closed in the preceding session, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) made an additional 10.33 points to wrap the trading day at 3,120.3 points compared with the 3,09.80 points recorded at the midweek session.
Business Post reports that the share price of Okitipupa Plc increased on Thursday by N4.35 to end the day at N47.90 per unit compared with the previous day’s N43.55 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc gained 14 Kobo to settle at N1.74 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1.60 per share.
On the flip side, Impresit Bakolori Plc suffered a decline of 10 Kobo yesterday to trade at 95 Kobo per unit versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1.05 per unit.
When the exchange closed for the session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went up by 70,008 per cent to 407.4 million units from the 581,160 units transacted a day earlier.
Equally, the value of shares traded during the session jumped by 16,665.9 per cent to N391.2 million from the N2.3 million recorded at midweek, and the number of deals increased by 65 per cent to 30 deals from the 20 deals posted on Wednesday.
Impresit Bakolori Plc topped the activity chart as the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 406.5 million units worth N386.1 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.3 million units valued at N170.4 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units sold for N44.3 million.
However, Impresit Bakolori Plc snatched the top spot as most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 406.5 million units worth N386.1 million, as Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc dropped to second position for selling 26.3 million units sold for N6.3 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc occupied third with 9.2 million units valued at N44.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recovered about 0.26 per cent or N3.99 against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, January 23 after coming under pressure in recent times.
During the session, the exchange rate of the local currency to its American counterpart closed at N1,548.59/$1 in the official market compared with the previous day’s N1,552.58/$1.
Also, against the Pound Sterling, the domestic currency gained N3.32 yesterday to trade at N1,912.21/£1 compared with Wednesday’s value of N1,915.53/£1 and on the Euro, it improved by N3.82 to sell for N1,617.72/€1 versus N1,613.89/€1.
The forex market may be reacting positively to news that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would launch a FX Code, which will serve as a guideline to the banking industry to promote ethical conduct of Authorised Dealers in the Nigerian FX market, next week.
The code will further reduce speculative activities, eliminate market distortions, and give the CBN improved oversight capabilities to effectively regulate the market.
The bank noted that authorised dealers would subsequently conduct all FX transactions in the interbank FX market on the EFEMS approved by the apex bank where transactions will be reflected immediately.
However, in the black market segment, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback during the session to quote at N1,665/$1, in contrast to midweek’s rate of N1,660/$1.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was lively yesterday as attention is increasingly centered on potential policy developments under the government of President Donald Trump of the US.
On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order to ban the digital dollar and promote crypto and AI innovation in the country.
Meanwhile, the US data released recently showed the “all tenant rent” index, which leads the shelter inflation in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose at a slower pace last quarter. That has raised hopes that the US Federal Reserve will walk back on its hawkish December rate forecasts.
These helped Ethereum (ETH) gain 5.4 per cent on Thursday to sell at $3,394.79, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 4.4 per cent to $260.86, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 2.9 per cent to $1.00, and Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 2.6 per cent to $116.78.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 2.1 per cent to $1o4,978.31, Ripple (XRP) leapt by 0.7 per cent to $3.16, Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 0.6 per cent to $0.3572, and Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 1.6 per cent to $710.31, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The global crude oil market waned on Thursday after the US President, Mr Donald Trump, urged the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to bring down the cost of the commodity during his address at the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Brent crude futures lost 71 cents or 0.9 per cent after the speech to close at $78.29 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) crude futures contracted by 82 cents or 1.09 per cent to $74.62 per barrel.
At WEF in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump announced he would ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil.
Since he took office, the uncertainty over how Mr Trump’s proposed tariffs and energy policies would affect global economic growth and energy demand have weighed on prices.
He threatened to add new tariffs to his sanctions threat against Russia if the country does not make a deal to end its war with Ukraine.
He also vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs and impose 25 per cent tariffs against Canada and Mexico.
On China, Mr Trump said his administration was discussing a 10 per cent punitive duty because fentanyl is being sent from there to the US.
On Monday, he declared a national energy emergency intended to provide him with the authority to reduce environmental restrictions on energy infrastructure and projects; and ease permitting for new transmission and pipeline infrastructure.
Market analysts say there will be more potential for a downward choppy movement in the oil market in the near term due to the Trump administration’s lack of clarity on trade tariffs policy and the impending higher oil supplies from the US.
Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory dip of 1 million barrels for the week to January 17. In fuels, the EIA estimated mixed changes.
The change in crude inventories compared with a draw of 2 million barrels for the previous week, which also saw another round of sizable builds in fuels.
This contradicts forecasts by the American Petroleum Institute (API) which showed that on the US oil inventory front, crude stocks rose by 958,000 barrels in the week ending January 17 and added that gasoline (petrol) inventories rose by 3.23 million barrels and distillate stocks climbed by 1.88 million barrels, they said.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism8 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN