By Adedapo Adesanya

Pressure on the Naira against the Dollar eased on Tuesday, March 24, by 0.41 per cent or N5.75 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to N1,382.63/$1 from the previous day’s N1,388.38/$1.

Also, the Nigerian currency gained N11.43 against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session to sell for N1,848.86/£1 versus Monday’s closing rate of N1,860.29/£1, and improved its value against the Euro by N9.43 to settle at N1,599.98/€1 versus the preceding session’s price of N1,609.41/€1.

However, the Naira lost N17 against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk to close at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous N1,371/$1, and closed flat against the US Dollar in the parallel market at N1,400/$1.

Analysts at Quest Merchant Bank said global factors are shaping investor sentiment, giving the local currency the needed strength to maintain stability in the currency market. The prolonged conflict in the Middle East has heightened risk aversion, reducing appetite for emerging-market assets.

The bank noted that de-escalation in geopolitical tensions, alongside Nigeria’s attractive yield environment, could help sustain offshore inflows and support the currency in the near term, though structural challenges remain.

As for the cryptocurrency market, profit-taking erased gains made by some tokens after it was reported that a one-month ceasefire in the Iran war could be announced soon as part of a wider deal, easing worries that gripped the markets.

Other terms of the deal reportedly include a dismantling of Iran’s existing nuclear capabilities and that country’s vow to “never seek” nuclear weapons.

The news was felt most immediately in the oil market, with Brent Crude dropping from $104 to below $100 in a few minutes.

Previously, US President Donald Trump announced a five-day pause on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure.

Solana (SOL) depreciated by 1.4 per cent to $90.21, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 1.3 per cent to $1.40, Bitcoin dipped 0.6 per cent to $70,235.96, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 0.4 per cent to $2,143.38, and Binance Coin (BNB) dropped 0.3 per cent to sell for $636.19.

On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) rose 1.4 per cent to $0.2652, TRON (TRX) added 0.7 per cent to close at $0.3077, and Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.095, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices were mixed on Tuesday after reports ‌that the United States had sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East.

Brent futures ‌went down by $0.83 ⁠or 0.9 per cent to $99.11 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate climbed $4.22 or 4.79 per cent to $92.35 per barrel.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US and Iran were “in negotiations right now” and suggested Tehran was eager to make a peace deal, even as the Islamic Republic denied it’s in direct talks with America.

President Trump, speaking in the Oval Office, said he decided to back off from his recent threat to order strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure

According to reports, ​the plan includes a one-month ceasefire to be announced, according to a mechanism that US Middle ​East envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared ​Kushner are working on.

The Strait of Hormuz was handling about 20 per cent of global seaborne oil supplies until the war broke out, before Iran virtually stopped flows via the critical waterway. With around a fifth of the world’s daily oil supply cut off by the Middle East war, prices are still ​more than 40 per cent higher than they were when the conflict erupted in late February.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has seen its liquified natural gas (LNG) and most oil supply choked at the vital chokepoint, said Iran’s weaponisation of the energy and trade flows amounts to economic terrorism against every nation in the world.

Since the US-Israel strikes on Iran began on February 28, the daily traffic of over 100 vessels, including tankers, through the Strait of Hormuz, has slowed to a trickle of a handful of passages per week, all cargoes apparently approved for transit by Iran.

Iranian state media said that Iran would permit safe transit through the strait, except for ships associated with its “enemies.”

Amid the messaging clash between the US and Iran on negotiations, multiple outlets have reported that regional leaders are engaged in behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to help broker an end to the war.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US rose by 2.3 million barrels in the week ending March 20. Official data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.

By Dipo Olowookere

The bulls rescued the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited from the bears on Tuesday amid cherry-picking of shares with sound fundamentals.

Data showed that the bourse closed higher by 0.85 per cent during the trading day, influenced by bargain-hunting activities by investors.

Business Post reports that Airtel Africa led the gainers’ chart yesterday after it rose by 10.00 per cent to N2,497.00, Consolidated Hallmark increased by 10.00 per cent to N4.95, John Holt gained 10.00 per cent to close at N14.30, Legend Internet also surged by 10.00 per cent to N6.60, and Zichis appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N10.37.

On the flip side, NPF Microfinance Bank lost 6.29 per cent to trade at N6.56, Royal Exchange depreciated by 5.32 per cent to N1.78, CWG crashed by 4.82 per cent to N20.75, Veritas Kapital went down by 4.21 per cent to N2.05, and UPDC slipped by 3.88 per cent to N4.95.

The market breadth index was positive after Customs Street finished with 32 appreciating equities and 26 depreciating equities, representing bullish investor sentiment.

It was observed that buying pressure was across the key sectors of the market, with the insurance, consumer goods, and banking indices up by 2.14 per cent, 0.53 per cent, and 0.50 per cent apiece, while the industrial goods and energy sectors closed flat.

The All-Share Index (ASI) gained 1,691.86 points on Tuesday to finish at 200,705.88 points from Monday’s 199,014.02 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N1.086 trillion to N128.836 trillion from N127.750 trillion.

At the exchange yesterday, 1.3 billion shares worth N65.3 billion were traded in 89,949 deals compared with the 848.8 million shares valued at N53.3 billion transacted in 139,458 deals a day earlier, showing a decline in the number of deals by 35.50 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 53.16 per cent and 22.51 per cent, respectively.

The activity log was topped by Access Holdings with 266.8 million stocks valued at N6.0 billion, GTCO traded 184.4 million shares for N19.4 billion, Wema Bank exchanged 182.5 million equities worth N4.8 billion, UBA sold 119.1 million stocks valued at N5.8 billion, and Zenith Bank transacted 42.7 million shares for N4.6 billion.