Connect with us

Stock Market

Asian Markets Follow US Rally as Interest Rate Peak Looms

Published

on

Asian

Asian markets saw gains today, echoing Friday’s rally in US stocks and bonds as investors increasingly believe that interest rates have reached their peak for the current economic cycle.

Equities in Australia, Japan, South Korea, and China all posted gains, pushing a regional stock gauge to its highest level in nearly a month. This marked the fourth consecutive advance of more than 1%.

South Korea’s benchmark index jumped by 4% following Sunday’s announcement that the country would ban short-selling.

This restriction took effect on Monday and is set to last until the end of June next year, as declared by South Korea’s Financial Services Commission.

Investors have adjusted their predictions for Federal Reserve rate cuts next year, with swaps pricing suggesting that a cut by June is fully priced in. This increased expectation for rate cuts stems, in part, from projections of a weaker jobs report and a slight uptick in US unemployment.

Vasu Menon, Managing Director of Investment Strategy for OCBC Bank Singapore, commented, “There’s a bit more reason for investors to be more optimistic that the Fed is probably done with rate hikes, but one should not let one’s guard down. If the economy proves to be more resilient, if inflation proves to be more stubborn, bond yields could go up once again.”

Most Asian currencies advanced against the dollar, with the South Korean won and Indonesian rupiah leading the way. Meanwhile, 10-year Treasury yields inched up in Asian trading after a nine-basis-point drop on Friday.

Forecasts for Federal Reserve cuts next year challenge the narrative of “higher for longer” that policymakers have outlined in recent months, potentially setting the market and Fed officials on a collision course.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, addressing the central bank’s inflation target, mentioned that the bank cannot yet see its inflation target within sight with enough certainty, although the chances of achieving the goal are gradually rising.

Looking ahead, investors will closely watch the Reserve Bank of Australia’s potential interest rate increase after a four-meeting pause in rate hikes. China is set to release trade data following Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s pledge to expand imports in Sunday’s comments.

In the commodities market, oil prices rose slightly in Asia following Saudi Arabia and Russia’s reaffirmation of their commitment to supply curbs of over 1 million barrels a day through the year-end.

Continue Reading
Comments

Nigerian Exchange Limited

Naira Depreciation and High Interest Rates Force Market Slowdown, Experts Say

Published

on

stock - Investors King

Stockbrokers and investors have abandoned the equity market due to the Naira volatility, lack of market drive towards the end of the year,  and the high interest rate in Nigeria.

A long-time investor, David Adonri explained that the volume of trade usually drops towards the end of the year but the market normalises in January.

With the persistent drop in the value of the Nigerian Naira against foreign currencies, investors are wary of unfavourable currency conversion.

“The equity market reacts to so many things. The depreciation of the naira, which is around N1,700, of course, would impact the market. The foreign exchange position can make people exit the market and convert to hard currency, which is stronger, possibly to come back to the market when they see an improved currency level. That is what we call carry-over trade,” Adonri said.

“We also have the hike in the interest rate, which also causes financial assets to migrate away from the capital market,” Adonri added.

“Third, we are in the period of the year, where seasonally, the market is a little bit down because there is nothing specific to drive the market like full-year results or half-year dividends and so on. So we slide to a low tempo from September up to November until after Christmas the market starts trending up again,” he further stated.

According to a report by the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), equity investment transactions dropped in Q3, 2024 compared to the previous quarter of the year.

In the same vein, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that capital importation showed that investors shifted from equity investment to portfolio investment.

The portfolio investment includes equity, bonds, and money market instruments.

With the recent shift, the portfolio investment made a 10.37 percent increase amounting to a $106.85 million gain from the N1.03 billion total capital inflow.

Continue Reading

Stock Market

ASHON Seeks Increase to 1.35% Stockbroking Fees

Published

on

Nigerian Exchange Limited - Investors King

The Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) has sought an upward review of stockbroking fees from the current ceiling of 1.35%.

Its Chairman, Mr Sam Onukwue, disclosed this in a statement presenting the outcome of the association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday in Lagos.

Mr Onukwue said the review was necessary as the fee had been static for years, while the high cost of doing business was affecting the earnings of its members.

He noted that stockbroking fees had remained at a ceiling of 1.35 percent in spite of the increasing inflation rate and other annual regulatory charges paid by ASHON members.

According to him, the suspension of margin trading due to abuse has crippled access to liquidity for many stockbroking firms.

He said this had also made it difficult for stockbrokers to leverage emerging opportunities in the market.

Mr Onukwe revealed that ASHON was working closely with the capital market regulators to address the issue and the need to re-introduce margin trading for mutual benefits of stockbroking firms and the stock market.

“ASHON, after rigorous market research, has written a formal request to SEC for an upward review of the stockbroking fees.

“The Association has made representations to the regulatory authorities for the reintroduction of margin trading.

“The issues at stake are the exclusion of banking stocks in the securities to be traded, as well as the need to update the rules, which was at the behest of the CBN,” he said.

According to the chairman, the association has engaged the Board since the NGX announced its capital raise by way of rights on the status of the two per cent Claims Reserve Shares provided for in the scheme of arrangement of the demutualisation.

Mr Onukwue also explained that the Exchange has committed to a transparent resolution of the issues before the rights offer opens, adding that the association would update its members accordingly.

He mentioned that ASHON, in conjunction with the NGX X-Academy, successfully organised a seminar on “Market Liquidity: Insights, Challenges and Solutions.”

The chairman said that based on the success of the seminar; the association intended to continue to collaborate with key market infrastructure in creating opportunities for its members to upskill their workforce.

“We have strengthened our relationship with the Institute of Capital Market Registrar (ICMR), to create a seamless interface between our members and Registrars.

“We believe this has fostered closer understanding between our members and helped to resolve operational issues between them.

“The association has continued to make progress against all odds. We are determined to survive, and our faith will see us through,” he added.

Continue Reading

Nigerian Exchange Limited

NGX Suffers 0.25% Dip After Three Days of Gains, Market Cap Falls by N148 Billion

Published

on

Nigerian Exchange Limited - Investors King

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) lost 0.25 percent on Wednesday following three consecutive days of gains that saw NGX market capitalization approach N60 trillion.

Activity on the Exchange declined as investors exchanged 257.552 million shares worth N8.993 billion in 7,776 transactions, compared to 286.1 million shares worth N26.8 billion traded in 9,650 deals on Tuesday.

The market capitalization of listed equities decreased by N148 billion from N59.707 trillion in the previous session to N59.559 trillion on Wednesday.

The NGX All-Share Index dropped 0.25 percent, or 249.4 points to close at 98,291.53 index points from 98,540.93 index points on Tuesday.

Deap Capital Management led the gainers with a 10 percent increase while UACN and Dangote Sugar followed with 9.90 percent and 9.69 percent gains, respectively.

On the flip side, Custodian led the losers with an 8.98 percent decline to close at N11.65 per share. Okomu Oil lost N24.90, or 6.86 percent to settle at N338.10 per unit and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings fell 6.62 percent, or 10 kobo to N1.41 per share.

Fidelity Bank was the most traded stock with 38.209 million shares worth N559.084 million exchanged. See other details below.

Top Five Gainers

Symbols Last Close Current Change %Change
DEAPCAP N 1.20 N 1.32 0.12 10.00 %
UACN N 19.70 N 21.65 1.95 9.90 %
DANGSUGAR N 32.00 N 35.10 3.10 9.69 %
CHAMPION N 3.42 N 3.75 0.33 9.65 %
DAARCOMM N 0.54 N 0.59 0.05 9.26 %

Top Five Losers 

Symbols Last Close Current Change %Change
CUSTODIAN N 12.80 N 11.65 -1.15 -8.98 %
OKOMUOIL N 363.00 N 338.10 -24.90 -6.86 %
CONHALLPLC N 1.51 N 1.41 -0.10 -6.62 %
ARADEL N 820.00 N 772.00 -48.00 -5.85 %
MCNICHOLS N 1.42 N 1.35 -0.07 -4.93 %

Top Five Trades

Symbols Volume Value
FIDELITYBK 38208737.00 559084494.25
UBA 33788061.00 829612602.15
GTCO 16739423.00 858279401.40
CHAMPION 14440020.00 54227220.54
ZENITHBANK 11593481.00 436483631.30

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement




Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending