Forex

Stocks Drift at Record Highs; Dollar Rally Pauses

Published

7 years ago

October 18, 2017

Stocks Drift at Record Highs; Dollar Rally Pauses

Stocks drifted with investors assessing the magnitude of recent gains in global equities as a deadline on Catalonia’s independence claim from Spain loomed and China kicked off its twice-in-a-decade Communist Party Congress.

Equities in Asia were mixed with volumes subdued, despite fresh records for U.S. stocks, as investors parsed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 3 1/2-hour long speech that started the week-long event. European stock-index futures indicated a muted start to trading. The dollar’s rally from the start of the week petered out as traders tracked Nafta developments. Xi said China was pushing through reforms in a systematic way as he warned of “severe” challenges and laid out a road map to turn the nation into a leading global power by 2050.

The Bloomberg dollar index fluctuated in a narrow range. Negotiations over the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement were extended into the first quarter of 2018 in a bid to resolve differences with Canada and Mexico. That sent the Mexican peso more than 1 percent higher on Tuesday and it was holding those gains.

The euro was steady after recovering from a slide when Spain cut its growth forecast for 2018, acknowledging the impact of an escalating political crisis in Catalonia, a region that accounts for a fifth of the country’s output. Catalonia has until Thursday to back down from a challenge to secede.

Markets have been stable with a lack of volatility going into the start of China’s Communist Party Congress. However, in the past the meetings coincided with an average 3.3 percent drop on the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index and a further 3.3 percent in the following five trading days. The reaction on Wednesday was muted: the yuan barely inched higher as did the Shanghai Composite Index.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s choice for the next chair of the Federal Reserve, which has been a focus for markets in recent weeks, will be unveiled before he leaves Nov. 3 for an 11-day trip to Asia and Hawaii, a person familiar with the process said Tuesday. John Taylor was said to have impressed Trump in an interview, buoying gains in the greenback earlier this week given the assumption by many that he would favor tighter policy. Trump also tried to rally support for his tax plan in a speech on Tuesday.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Japan’s Topix index closed less than 0.1 percent higher in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 500 Index ended flat, while South Korea’s Kospi index was also little changed.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched lower, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.1 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures were steady.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed. The underlying gauge rose 0.1 percent to close at a fresh all-time high in New York.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed as was the MSCI Emerging Market Index after dropping 0.5 percent in the previous session.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady.
The euro was at $1.1769 after falling 0.3 percent on Tuesday.
The pound was at $1.3179. It slipped 0.5 percent on Tuesday after Governor Mark Carney said the Bank of England is making contingency plans for a “hard” exit from the European Union.
The yen fell 0.1 percent to 112.33 per dollar.
The New Zealand dollar fell 0.3 percent to 71.52 U.S. cents. New Zealand First will be in a position on Thursday afternoon to make an announcement on a government.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.3 percent.
Australia’s 10-year yield fell four basis points to 2.72 percent.
German 10-year bund yields were steady at 0.36 percent.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate climbed 0.3 percent to $52.03 a barrel.
Gold was little changed at $1,283.97 an ounce.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Naira

Naira Weakens Against Dollar at Official, Parallel FX Markets

Published

1 day ago

October 22, 2024

Iyanuoluwa Martins

The Naira depreciated at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) and the parallel market on Monday, signifying more worries for the local currency.

At the official market – NAFEM – the local currency sold for the US Dollar at N1,603.16/$1 as it recorded a 0.15 percent or N2.38 drop versus N1,600.78/$1 it was valued at the previous session on Friday.

This occurred as supply rose at the opening session as turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $359.22 million indicating that the session’s turnover went higher by 2.4 percent or $8.50 million compared to $350.72 million that was published the day before.

At the unofficial market, the domestic currency closed at N1,698.97 to the US Dollar, a drop of N8.15 compared to N1,690.82/$1 it closed during the Friday trading session.

The weakening of the Naira is happening as the nation’s external reserves continue to swell due to lower US Dollar volume sales to boost liquidity in the official FX market.

Latest data showed the balance in Nigeria’s foreign reserves inched to about $39 billion as CBN data revealed that Nigeria now has $38.992 billion as gross balance in the nation’s external reserves.

The CBN has not made do with its promise to prop up the market as it appears to have halted its weekly FX sales

In a different trend, the domestic currency witnessed a flat outcome against the British currency and the Euro in the week’s opening session.

On the Pound Sterling, the local currency closed at N2,153.90/£1 and N1,800.79/€1 on the Euro.

In the parallel market, the local currency depreciated in its value against the British Pound Sterling by N11.69 to sell at N2,213.25/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,201.56/£1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro as it lost N10 to quote at N1,845.29/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,835.29/€1.

The local currency also depreciated further by N8.64 to close at N1,225.82 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Friday’s N1,217.18 per CAD.

Naira

Naira Appreciates 3.6% on US Dollar, Trades N1,600

Published

4 days ago

October 19, 2024

Iyanuoluwa Martins

Naira to Dollar Exchange- Investors King Rate - Investors King

The Naira rose 3.6 percent on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to exchange at N1,600.78/$1 on Friday, October 18 as the local currency appreciated amid an increased supply.

The domestic currency gained N59.71 on the American currency versus N1,660.49/$1, which it closed in the previous session on Thursday.

Data showed a rise in supply as the turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $350.72 million indicating that the session’s turnover rose by 6.2 percent, indicating a rise of $20.54 million compared to $330.18 million that was published in the last trading session.

Meanwhile, the Naira witnessed a flat outcome against the Pound Sterling and the Euro as it closed on the British currency at N2,153.90/£1 and on the European currency at N1,791.06/€1 quoted in the preceding session.

In the Parallel market, the Naira weakened on the American currency as it closed at N1,690.82 to the US Dollar, a drop of N1.31 compared to N1,689.51/$1 it closed during the Wednesday trading session.

In the past months, the Naira has been volatile against the Dollar at the FX market despite interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The World Bank also said the Nigerian Naira is among the worst-performing currencies in sub-Sahara Africa at the end of August 2024.

In its latest edition of Africa’s Pulse report, the international organisation said the Naira is at par with the Ethiopian Birr, and South Sudanese Pound in terms of decline in the region.

However, the local currency appreciated in its value against the British Pound Sterling in the official market by N54 to sell at N2,201.93/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,147.93/£1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro as it gained N4.58 to quote at N1,835.29/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,839.87/€1.

The local currency also depreciated N16.11 to close at N1,217.18 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Thursday’s N1,201.07 per CAD.

Black Market Rate

Naira Gains on Dollar, Pounds, Others at Black Market, Falls at NAFEX

Published

5 days ago

October 18, 2024

Iyanuoluwa Martins

The Naira gained against the US Dollar in the Parallel segment of the foreign exchange market on Thursday, October 17 as it closed at N1,689.51 to the American currency, a gain of N4.41 compared to N1,693.32/$1 it closed during the Wednesday trading session.

The Naira also gained in its value against the British Pound Sterling in the market by N11.19 to sell at N2,147.93/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,159.12/£1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro as it appreciated N8.07 to quote at N1,839.87/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,847.94/€1.

The local currency also appreciated N3.59 to close at N1,201.07 per Canadian Dollar, compared to the previous day’s closing value of N1,204.66 per CAD.

Meanwhile, the Naira depreciated marginally for yet another session against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to N1,660.49/$1.

The local currency rose fell by 0.05 per cent or N91.01 at the window, according to data obtained from FMDQ Securities Exchange compared to N1,659.69/$1 published in the preceding session on Wednesday.

This occurred as supply rose at the penultimate session as turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $330.18 million indicating that the session’s turnover jumped by 86.4 per cent, indicating that there was a decrease of $153.08 million compared to $177.10 million published the previous day.

The surge in supply could be due to peer-to-peer sales as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has no actively injected liquidity in the market.

Investors King reports that the CBN in August re-introduced the retail Dutch auction system with the aim to sell US Dollar to FX users on demand basis but after the market witnessed more than $1.1 billion injected into the system, there has been slowdown in the auction.

In a different pattern, the local currency closed flat against the Pound Sterling and depreciated on the Euro at the closing session.

Trading against the British currency, the local currency closed at N2,153.90/£1 while it closed at the rate of N1,791.06/€1, a N9.73 appreciation against N1,800.79/€1 against the Euro.