By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market rose on Wednesday morning amid concerns that breakdowns in ‌discussions between Iran and the United States for a final agreement to end their war may extend supply disruptions in the key Middle East producing region.

Brent futures gained 33 cents or 0.45 per cent to trade at $73.28 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ​climbed 34 cents or 0.49 per cent to $69.84 a barrel.

US officials arrived in Qatar for talks on the Iran war, but will meet with mediators, not Iranian negotiators. The lack of direct talks further complicates efforts to find a lasting end to the conflict and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The representatives, which include US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff, arrived in ​Doha for what the White House described as “high-level” talks on Tuesday, but Iran and host Qatar said they would meet with mediators, rather than the Iranians themselves.

The Wall Street Journal reported that while hardline military officials are pushing for full control of Hormuz, Iranian civilian leaders like President Masoud Pezeshkian are aiming to get access to billions in frozen assets, indicating different priorities.

Brent fell by around $45 a barrel between the first and second quarters of this year, its largest quarterly ​loss since 2008 during the financial crisis in the US. Crude futures meanwhile fell by around $31, their largest quarterly loss since 2020, when ‌the COVID-19 ⁠pandemic crushed global oil demand.

The declines followed progress toward ending the Middle East conflict, pulling back from the sharp gains triggered earlier by the hostilities.

Analysts have cut their 2026 oil price forecasts after five straight monthly increases, as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz eased concerns over ​prolonged supply disruptions.

Tanker traffic ​through the ⁠critical waterway has started to recover, with US Vice President JD Vance claiming that oil flows through the strait had been restored to pre-war levels.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US fell by 6.072 million barrels in the week ending June 26. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 765,000 barrels.

Official oil stock data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)will be released later on Wednesday.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The planned reclassification of Nigeria’s Frontier Market status by FTSE Russell has suffered a major setback.

This is because the global index provider is reviewing this after the country transitioned into a T+1 settlement cycle on June 1, 2026, from a T+2 settlement cycle.

Last month, Nigeria became the first market in Africa to implement the shortened settlement framework designed to enhance efficiency, reduce risk, and improve global competitiveness.

The move, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was to align the ecosystem with global best practices, where shorter settlement cycles are increasingly being adopted to improve post-trade efficiency, reduce counterparty risk, and strengthen investor confidence, reaffirming regulators’ commitment to continued modernisation of market systems and processes.

The Director General of SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, had enthused that, “The era of T+1 has begun. In just six months, Nigeria has successfully progressed from T+2 to T+1 settlement, joining a growing group of markets embracing faster and more efficient settlement cycles.

“This achievement signals that Nigeria is prepared to undertake the structural reforms required to compete for global capital.”

However, FTSE Russell seems not to buy into this development, as it raised concerns about it, pointing out that the shorter settlement period could effectively make the Nigerian market a prefunded market for international institutional investors, requiring them to provide funds before trades are completed.

It argued that compulsory pre-funding is considered a disadvantage under its Settlement Cycle (Delivery versus Payment) criterion, one of the five key Quality of Markets standards that countries must satisfy to qualify for Frontier Market status under its Equity Country Classification framework.

The platform said it would conduct a further assessment before taking a final decision on the proposed reclassification and would provide an update by the end of August 2026.

Nigeria was upgraded from Unclassified to Frontier Market status in March 2026, with the change initially scheduled to take effect in September.

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian stock market rebounded on Tuesday by 0.45 per cent after consecutive days of shedding weight as a result of intense selling pressure, triggered by profit-taking and regulatory changes like the adoption of the T+1 settlement cycle and a change to the price movement rules.

Yesterday, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed higher despite three of the five key sectors closing in the red.

The industrial goods and the energy indices gained 0.01 per cent each, while the banking index slumped by 1.62 per cent, the insurance counter lost 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods sector declined by 0.03 per cent.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) was raised by 1,052.86 points to 229,419.18 points from 228,366.32 points, and the market capitalisation expanded by N676 billion to N147.218 trillion from N146.542 trillion.

Customs Street recorded 19 price gainers and 32 price losers during the trading day, indicating a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.

Prestige Assurance improved by 10.00 per cent to N1.54, Airtel Africa also gained 10.00 per cent to close at N4,794.60, Cutix appreciated by 9.70 per cent to trade at N2.94, Regency Alliance grew by 9.09 per cent to 84 Kobo, and FCMB climbed by 7.81 per cent to N10.35.

On the flip side, Custodian Investment lost 9.98 per cent to finish at N65.85, RT Briscoe dropped 9.95 per cent to quote at N9.95, PZ Cussons also depreciated by 9.95 per cent to N85.50, UPDC slipped by 9.86 per cent to N3.20, and Honeywell Flour retreated by 9.78 per cent to N28.12.

A total of 966.7 million equities worth N40.0 billion exchanged hands in 49,579 deals on Tuesday versus the 998.5 million equities valued at N43.7 billion traded in 61,813 deals on Monday, showing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 2.99 per cent, 8.47 per cent, and 19.79 per cent, respectively.

The busiest stock for the session was Linkage Assurance, which sold 96.0 million units for N155.1 million, FCMB exchanged 93.8 million units valued at N956.0 million, Japaul traded 81.8 million units worth N228.8 million, Morison Industries transacted 79.2 million units for N791.7 million, and Neimeth sold 71.6 million units valued at N552.1 million.