…As German FM warns: EU will not surrender to U.S. in trade conflict***
The bears resurfaced on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday following loses recorded by some blue chips.
Betaglass dominated the bears with a loss of N8.10 to close lower at N72.90 per share.
Presco trailed with a loss of N6.60 to close at N59.55, while Lafarge Africa declined by N3.25 to close at N29.25 per share.
Nigerian Breweries decreased by N2.50 to close at N105.50, while PZ dipped N1.65 to close at N15.15 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation lost N93 billion or 0.70 per cent to close at N13.205 trillion against N13.298 trillion achieved on Monday.
Also, the All-Share Index which opened at 36,711.96 shed 256.72 points or 0.70 per cent to close at 36,455.24.
On the other hand, Nestle led the gainers’ table with N20 to close at N1,450 per share.
Cement Company of Northern Nigeria followed with a gain of N1.10 to close at N26, while Custodian and Allied Insurance improved by 55k to close at N6.10 per share.
Cutix appreciated by 33k to close at N3.63, while Guaranty Trust Bank gained 20k to close at N39.00 per share.
An analysis of the activity chart showed that Medview Air for the second consecutive day was the most active stock, trading 100.01 million shares worth N210.51 million.
Transcorp followed with an account of 45.50 million shares valued at N54.29 million, while FBN Holdings sold 36.01 million shares worth N332.35 million.
Access Bank came third with a turnover of 20.51 million shares valued at N205.87 million.
NAN reports that the volume of shares traded rose by 67.36 per cent, while the value grew by 100 per cent.
Specifically, investors bought and sold 378.69 million shares worth N4.42 billion achieved on 4,551 deals.
This was in contrast with 226.27 million shares valued at N2.21 billion transacted in 3,624 deals on Monday.
Meanwhile, the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) warned U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday to expect a firm response from the European Union (EU) to new protectionist measures.
Speaking during an appearance on the public broadcaster ARD, Maas said that he was still hopeful that the trade conflict could be resolved consensually.
Nevertheless, Europe would not “allow itself to be threatened and would not simply surrender” if Trump chose to escalate the dispute further.
The German foreign minister argued that Washington would leave Brussels with no other choice than to retaliate against a raft of new U.S. tariffs.
Otherwise, the credibility of the bloc and the wider system of rules-based free trade would suffer lasting damage.
Maas emphasised that it was crucial for Europe as a whole, but Germany and France in particular, to speak with one voice on trade in order to be heard on a global level.
Member states which became divided on the issue would be at the mercy of greater non-European powers without having any effective say over their own future.
According to the German Social Democrat (SPD), no one could be seriously interested in the imposition of new and higher import tariffs as threatened again recently by the U.S.
“At the end of the day, all sides will lose, including the American side,’’ he said.
He consequently hoped that Washington would ultimately renege and depart from the protectionist path which it had embarked upon.
The Federation of German Industries (BDI) recently argued that the key to resolving the U.S.-EU trade dispute lay in creating a “shared understanding of the facts.’’
Amongst others, the bloc needed to highlight that the German automotive industry employed over 118,000 staff in the U.S. and exported 60 per cent of its local production to different countries.
Maas is scheduled to make visits to South Korea and Japan in the coming days where he will also discuss the possibility of a joint response from the EU and other countries affected by new U.S. tariffs.
On Wednesday, EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem are also scheduled to hold widely-anticipated direct talks with Trump in Washington.
