By Dipo Olowookere

The losing streak on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was halted on Friday after the bourse closed higher by 2.19 per cent at the close of trading activities.

The gains reported by Nigerian stocks were buoyed by renewed bargain-hunting by investors, which resulted in all the key sectors of Customs Street ended in the green territory.

The banking space rose by 2.78 per cent, the insurance counter appreciated by 1.26 per cent, the energy segment expanded by 0.36 per cent, the consumer goods index chalked up 0.06 per cent, and the industrial goods sector grew by 0.05 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 4,918.37 points to 229,240.34 points from 224,321.97 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N3.156 trillion to N147.103 trillion from N143.947 trillion.

Investor sentiment was bullish after 34 stocks ended on the price gainers’ chart and 18 stocks finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index.

The quintet of The Initiates, Universal Insurance, DAAR Communications, Omatek, and Airtel Africa surged by 10.00 per cent to sell for N25.85, 88 Kobo, N1.65, N1.76, and N5,274.00, respectively.

On the flip side, International Energy Insurance lost 9.96 per cent to trade at N4.70, Meyer shed 9.95 per cent to close at N18.55, Veritas Kapital dropped 5.07 per cent to finish at N1.31, Fidelity Bank slipped by 2.17 per cent to N18.00, and Jaiz Bank crashed by 1.84 per cent to N28.12.

During the session, a total of 414.7 million equities worth N25.1 billion exchanged hands in 47,106 deals compared with the 855.4 million equities valued at N28.4 billion transacted in the preceding day in 51,609 deals, implying a contraction in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 51.52 per cent, 11.62 per cent, and 8.73 per cent, respectively.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira closed flat against the United States Dollar at N1,370.19/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, July 3.

However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N2.29 to settle at N1,829.88/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,832.17/£1, and marginally depreciated against the Euro by 4 Kobo to close at N1,568.32/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,568.28/€1.

At the parallel market, the Naira also traded flat against the US Dollar at N1,390/$1, and at the GTBank forex desk, it also maintained stability at N1,832/$1.

Market conditions improved shortly after the following minimal intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through modest Dollar sales, which boosted liquidity and supported stronger trading activity.

Easing pressure came after half-year profit-taking tapered down, while continued stronger policy signals from the central bank add to near-term support.

Deals executed at the official market on Friday came in at $70.430 million across 82 interbank deals, from $85.517 million the previous day.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market continued its recovery after June non-farm payrolls printed at 57,000, less than half the 113,000 consensus, sending the implied probability of a September Federal Reserve rate hike from 64 per cent to 54 per cent and dragging AI stocks sharply lower.

Weak labour data reduces inflationary pressure and, by extension, the Federal Reserve’s justification for holding rates elevated. That transmission mechanism is direct: lower rate-hike odds compress the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like crypto.

Bitcoin regained the $62,000 mark after it rose by 1.3 per cent to $62,475.29.

Cardano (ADA) gained 6.6 per cent to trade at $0.1759, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.14, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 2.4 per cent to $1,756.82, Dogecoin (DOGE) improved by 2.1 per cent to $0.0768, Solana (SOL) chalked up 1.8 per cent to $82.65, TRON (TRX) increased by 1.5 per cent to $0.3235, and Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 1.4 per cent to $569.12, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices rose minimally on Friday, as ​traders held on to hopes for a successful outcome from attempts to secure peace between ‌the United States and Iran.

Brent futures were up 14 cents or 0.19 per cent to $71.94 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) grew by 9 cents or 0.13 per cent to $68.78 a barrel.

Trading ​was light as US markets were closed ahead of the country’s Independence Day holiday on Saturday. ​On Thursday, the two oil benchmarks hit their lowest levels since before the US-Israeli war with ⁠Iran began in late February.

Analysts noted that investor hopes for a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz are being ​buoyed by peace talks between the US and Iran. The dealmaking process remains fragile but continues for ​now, as the question of the Strait of Hormuz tolls and administration remains contentious.

Citi Bank noted that there are expectations that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) will hold, not because trust has suddenly emerged, but because the incentives to break are poor for both sides.

China’s crude buying remains weak; physical prices have crumbled due to the surge of prompt supply from the Middle East, while inventories have drawn far less than expected.

Some shipping has resumed through the Strait of Hormuz, as called for under the initial US-Iranian deal, but ​uncertainty is high after the two countries exchanged strikes last weekend following an Iranian attack on a cargo ship.

With the ‌prospect of ⁠shipping more oil, Gulf producers are working to increase output. Kuwait’s oil production rose sharply to 1.65 million barrels per day in June, from 580,000barrels per day in May while at least five supertankers carrying a total ​of 10 million barrels of ​Saudi oil have left ⁠the strait and Saudi Aramco has switched to spot pricing from longer-term contracts to speed sales in Asia.

According to Reuters’ monthly survey, the 11 members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produced 19.43 million barrels per day in June, up 3.3 million barrels per day from May, when output plunged to the lowest level recorded by the survey since at least 2000.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq also boosted output, while Nigeria and Libya posted smaller increases despite avoiding the worst of the Gulf disruptions.