By Adedapo Adesanya

The consistent reform agenda of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aimed at enhancing market stability by improving foreign exchange (FX) liquidity further strengthened the Nigerian Naira against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, February 10, by N3.24 or 0.24 per cent to N1,351.02/$1 from the previous day’s N1,354.26/$1.

At the black market, the Naira gained N20 against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,430/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,450/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it improved its value by N16 to sell for N1,363/$1, in contrast to the N1,379/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.

The domestic currency also appreciated against the Euro in the official market during the session by N6.70 to N1,606.49/€1 from the preceding session’s N1,613.19/€1 but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by 85 Kobo to close at N1,846.57/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,845.72/£1.

Nigeria’s FX market has continued the year on a firmer footing, extending the positive momentum recorded in 2025.

The Governor of the central bank,  Mr Yemi Cardoso, said reforms have extended across the financial landscape, anchored on disinflation, FX market normalisation, and financial-system resilience, which are strengthening real-sector confidence.

In addition, stronger trade receipts, reflecting the impact of elevated global oil prices, helped boost FX supply and support currency stability.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was under pressure, with analysts saying the recent drawdown, which is the steepest since the 2024 halving, has come on low spot trading volumes, suggesting retail investors have mostly stepped aside while leveraged derivatives drive price moves.

This comes ahead of a closely-watched US employment data for January due on Wednesday, which the US government officials suggest could be weaker than forecast.

Originally scheduled for last Friday, the government’s January Nonfarm Payrolls Report is now coming out on Wednesday morning due to the brief federal shutdown last month.

Solana (SOL) weakened by 4.5 per cent to $81.91, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 4.4 per cent to  $608.22, Ripple (XRP) dipped 4.3 per cent to $1.37, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 3.7 per cent to $1,975.44, and Dogecoin (DOGE) saw a 3.2 per cent fall in value to trade at $0.0916.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 2.8 per cent to $67,517.93, Cardano (ADA) slid 2.7 per cent to $0.2581, and Litecoin (LTC) declined by 2.1 per cent to $52.55, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian bourse showed no signs of slowing its bull run as it further appreciated by 1.65 per cent on Tuesday, its highest daily gain in 2026.

This was influenced by continued interest in shares in the energy, consumer goods and industrial goods sectors.

Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited revealed that the energy space increased by 2.97 per cent, the industrial goods counter appreciated by 2.93 per cent, the banking index expanded by 1.83 per cent, the consumer goods sector improved by 0.16 per cent, and the insurance segment rose by 0.01 per cent.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) added 2,863.20 points to close at 176,809.42 points compared with the previous day’s 173,946.22 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N1.838 trillion to N113.497 trillion from N111.659 trillion.

The growth recorded by Customs Street yesterday was mainly due to buying pressure on some bellwether stocks like MTN, GTCO, BUA Cement, Lafarge Africa and others.

Sixty-six equities ended on the gainers’ chart during the session, while 22 equities finished on the losers’ chart, indicating a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

The quartet of Omatek, Deap Capital, eTranzact, and John Holt chalked up 10.00 per cent each to sell for N3.19, N8.25, N20.35, and N8.80 apiece, while Vitafoam Nigeria gained 9.98 per cent to settle at N105.80.

Conversely, Abbey Mortgage Bank lost 9.82 per cent to trade at N12.40, SAHCO declined by 9.06 per cent to N150.00, Guinea Insurance slipped by 6.67 per cent to N1.54, Consolidated Hallmark shrank by 6.64 per cent to N4.50, and Livestock Feeds depleted by 6.34 per cent to N6.65.

A total of 1.3 billion stocks valued at N50.4 billion exchanged hands in 58,965 deals on Tuesday compared with the 775.2 million stocks worth N27.9 billion transacted in 65,960 deals on Monday, implying a fall in the number of deals by 10.61 per cent, and a growth in the trading volume and value by 67.70 per cent and 80.65 per cent, respectively.

Deap Capital was the most active stock for the day with a turnover of 283.1 million units valued at N2.0 billion, Access Holdings traded 135.5 million units worth N3.2 billion, Veritas Kapital transacted 67.3 million units for N149.7 million, Tantalizers exchanged 54.7 million units valued at N289.8 million, and Zenith Bank sold 52.1 million units worth N4.0 billion.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil went down less than 1 per cent on Tuesday as the markets waited for direction from news on diplomatic relations between the US and Iran, while the traders monitored efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Brent futures fell 24 cents or 0.3 per cent to settle at $68.80 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined by 40 cents or 0.6 per cent to $63.96 per barrel.

US and Iranian diplomats held talks through mediators in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy, after President Donald Trump positioned a naval fleet in the region, raising fears of new military action.

According to Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson on Tuesday, nuclear talks with the US allowed Iran to gauge the seriousness of the American government and showed enough consensus to continue on the diplomatic track.

Market analysts noted that unless there are concrete signs of supply disruptions, prices will likely start going lower, especially since there was no blockade to the Strait of Hormuz. About a fifth of the oil consumed globally passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran, making any escalation in the area a major risk to global oil supplies.

Iran and fellow Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia.

The European Union (EU) is moving to propose a list of concessions that Europe should demand from Russia as part of a settlement to end the war in Ukraine. The move is part of efforts to squeeze Russian revenue. Russia was the world’s third-biggest crude producer behind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in 2025.

Reuters reported that already, India, through its state oil company, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), bought six million barrels of crude from West Africa and the Middle East, traders said, as India steered clear of Russian oil.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US increased by a whopping 13.4 million barrels in the week ending February 6. Official data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.