Economy

Wall Street Points to Initial Rebound on Earnings Optimism

Published

7 years ago

22/07/2019

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Monday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside following the pullback seen last week.

Optimism about earnings news may generate early buying interest, as a slew of big-name companies are due to report their quarterly results this week.

Amazon (AMZN), Coca-Cola (KO), AT&T (T), Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT), Facebook (FB), Alphabet (GOOGL), Intel (INTC), McDonald’s (MCD), and Twitter (TWTR) are just a few of the companies due to report their quarterly results.

According to FactSet data, 79 percent of S&P 500 companies have reported better than expected quarterly earnings so far this earnings season.

The looming deluge of earnings reports may keep some traders on the sidelines today, with just a few companies reporting their results before the start of trading.

Logitech (LOGI), TD Ameritrade (AMTD) and Whirlpool (WHR) are among the companies due to report their results after the close.

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves amid a quiet day on the U.S. economic front, looking ahead to on new and existing home sales, durable goods orders, and second quarter GDP in the coming days.

After ending Thursday?s trading modestly higher, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages failed to sustain an initial upward move and slid firmly into negative territory as the day progressed.

The major averages showed a notable move to the downside in late-day trading, hitting new lows for the session. The Dow fell 68.77 points or 0.3 percent to 27,154.20, the Nasdaq slid 60.75 points or 0.7 percent to 8,146.49 and the S&P 500 dropped 18.50 points or 0.6 percent to 2,976.61.

With the downturn on the day, the major averages also moved lower for the week. The Dow slumped by 0.7 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both tumbled by 1.2 percent.

The initial strength in Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from Microsoft (MSFT), as the software giant reported fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders looked ahead to the slew of earnings news due to be released next week.

Traders were also digesting the New York Federal Reserve’s efforts to walk back comments President John Williams made Thursday that seemed to endorse a near-term interest rate cut.

Williams said it “pays to act quickly to lower rates at the first sign of economic distress,” arguing it is “better to take preventative measures than to wait for disaster to unfold.”

However, a New York Fed spokesman later claimed Williams’ remarks were based on years of research and not specifically about potential policy actions at the upcoming Fed meeting.

On the U.S. economic front, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing a slight improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of July.

The preliminary report showed the consumer sentiment index inched up to 98.4 in July from the final June reading of 98.2. Economists had expected the index to edge up to 98.5.

“Consumer sentiment remained largely unchanged in early July from June, remaining at quite favorable levels since the start of 2017,” said Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin.

Biotechnology stocks showed a significant move to the downside over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 1.9 percent.

Considerable weakness also emerged among gold stocks, which pulled back following the rally seen in the previous session.

The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index tumbled by 1.6 percent after spiking by 3.2 percent to a nearly two-year closing high on Thursday.

The pullback by gold stocks came as the price of gold for August delivery dipped after surging to a six-year high of $1,454.40 an ounce earlier in the session.

Interest rate-sensitive commercial real estate and utilities stocks also moved to the downside on the day, while notable strength was visible among steel stocks.

Economy

FrieslandCampina Wamco, Three Others Raise NASD OTC Exchange by 1.41%

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

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.

Economy

Profit-taking Sinks Nigeria’s Equity Market by 0.76% as Bears Take Control

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Dipo Olowookere

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.

Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,371/$1 at Official Market

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

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.