Economy
Yellen Testimony in Focus on Wall Street
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Wednesday, as the Dow futures are up by 69 points but the Nasdaq futures are down by 4.75 points.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of remarks by outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Yellen is scheduled to testify on the economic outlook before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee beginning at about 10 am ET.
In prepared remarks released ahead of her appearance, Yellen said economic growth appears to have stepped up from its subdued pace early in the year.
Yellen noted inflation has continued to run below the Fed’s 2 percent target but said recent lower readings on inflation likely reflect transitory factors.
The Fed Chair also reiterated that she expects gradual increases in interest rates will be appropriate to sustain a healthy labor market and stabilize inflation around the central bank’s objective.
Stocks saw some volatility in afternoon trading on Tuesday but managed to end the session firmly in positive territory. With the strong upward move on the day, the major averages climbed to new record closing highs.
The major averages ended the session just off their best levels of the day. The Dow surged up 255.93 points or 1.1 percent to 23,836.71, the Nasdaq climbed 33.84 points or 0.5 percent to 6,912.36 and the S&P 500 jumped 25.62 points or 1 percent to 2,627.04.
The notably higher close on Wall Street was partly due to news the Republican tax reform bill took another key step forward, as the legislation was approved by the Senate Budget Committee.
Members of the Senate Budget Committee voted 12 to 11 to advance the bill, with the vote coming down strictly along party lines.
The vote to send the bill to the Senate floor came after Republican Senators Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., dropped their objections to the bill.
The full Senate could vote on the bill as early as Thursday, although the legislation still includes significant differences from the House version.
Traders also reacted positively to remarks by Federal Reserve Chair nominee Jerome Powell, who testified before the Senate Banking Committee.
Powell told the committee he favors “tailoring” banking regulations so the largest and most complex institutions face the most stringent regulations while the burden on smaller banks is reduced.
The Fed Chair nominee also said the case for a December interest rate hike is “coming together” and said the central bank will continue reducing its $4.5 trillion balance sheet in a process that will take three or four years.
Powell repeatedly refused to comment on the potential economic impact of the Republican tax reform legislation working its way through Congress.
On the economic front, the Conference Board released a report showing an unexpected improvement in consumer confidence in the month of November.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index climbed to 129.5 in November from an upwardly revised 126.2 in October. Economists had expected the index to drop to 124.5.
With the unexpected increase, the consumer confidence index rose to its highest level since reaching 132.6 in November of 2000.
In mid-afternoon trading, some selling pressure was generated by reports that North Korea fired a ballistic missile, although traders quickly shrugged off the news.
Banking stocks showed a substantial move to the upside over the course of the session, driving the Dow Jones Banks Index up by 3.3 percent. With the jump, the index reached its best closing level in three weeks.
The rally by banking stocks partly reflected a positive reaction to Powell’s comments regarding financial regulations, which he called “tough enough.”
Significant strength also emerged among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index reached its best closing level in over a month.
Trucking, railroad, brokerage, and housing stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
By Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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