By Dipo Olowookere

Buying interest in consumer goods, energy and banking stocks further raised the Customs Street by 0.12 per cent on Thursday despite profit-taking in the insurance and industrial goods sectors.

According to data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the banking index grew by 0.62 per cent, the consumer goods space rose by 0.15 per cent, and the energy counter increased by 0.06 per cent, while the insurance sector crashed by 0.93 per cent, with the industrial goods segment flat.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 297.10 points to 245,209.34 points from 244,912.24 points, and the market capitalisation gained N191 billion to finish at N158.278 trillion compared with the previous day’s N158.087 trillion.

Eterna led the gainers’ log yesterday after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to settle at N36.30, ACA Capital improved by 9.63 per cent to N11.95, Legend Internet expanded by 9.52 per cent to N4.60, FCMB jumped by 8.55 per cent to N12.70, and Honeywell Flour surged by 7.98 per cent to N17.60.

On the flip side, Fortis Global Insurance led the losers’ chart after it shed 10.00 per cent to trade at N2.52, Ecobank declined by 9.99 per cent to N72.10, Chellarams depleted by 9.85 per cent to N11.90, Thomas Wyatt dipped by 9.83 per cent to N3.21, and UPDC slipped by 8.45 per cent to N3.25.

During the trading day, 531.8 million shares worth N20.5 billion exchanged hands in 44,826 deals compared with the 824.1 million shares valued at N25.5 billion transacted in 48,114 deals on Wednesday.

This indicated that the volume of trades was down by 35.47 per cent, the value of transactions depreciated by 19.61 per cent, and the number of deals decreased by 6.83 per cent.

The busiest stock for the session was FCMB, which traded 131.7 million units for N1.6 billion, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units worth N6.0 billion, AVA Capital exchanged 36.3 million units valued at N432.0 million, Chams traded 36.3 million units sold 36.3 million units valued at N149.8 million, and Access Holdings ended with a turnover of 24.4 million units worth N638.8 million.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Brent crude rose by 3.83 per cent or $3.04 to $82.29 per barrel on Thursday after an information that an Iranian parliament committee was reviewing a bill ‌that would ban US and Israeli vessels from the Strait of Hormuz.

Also, the price of the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures went up by 81 cents or 1.05 per cent to $77.29 per barrel during the session.

Under the apparent draft, Iran would ban American and Israeli ships from transiting the strait. Other nations that have harmed Iran would not be allowed to transit until compensation is paid, according to the draft. Iran would impose penalties on violators equivalent to 20 per cent of the value of cargo aboard a ship.

Market analysts noted that crude ⁠traders remain focused on the US-Iran agreements, and the longer the delays, the more prices will fade back to the upside.

Iran has warned Gulf states that any new US attack on its territory would trigger attacks on critical energy infrastructure across the region.

Before the Iran conflict began in late February, about one-fifth of global daily ​oil and liquefied natural gas supplies flowed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthis said they carried out missile and drone attacks on “Saudi deployments” in Marib and Hadramout in Yemen on Thursday. This has led to elimination of Saudi-aligned fighters as well as destruction of military camps, weapons depots and vehicles.’

Also, Iran and Oman appear to be close to agreeing on joint management of the Strait of Hormuz with Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, saying the deal with Oman was “in the final stages.”

Saudi Arabia has slightly lowered the official selling price for its flagship Arab Light crude oil to Asia in September.

Elsewhere, a major ​oil refinery in Russia’s Yaroslavl region was on fire after a big Ukrainian ​drone attack. The ‌President ⁠of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the country’s military had hit two Russian oil refineries – the Bashneft-Novoil refinery in the republic of Bashkortostan, and the Slavneft-Yanos refinery ​in the Yaroslavl ​region.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.

In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.

GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.

There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.

As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.