By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange returned to the green territory on Thursday with a 0.36 per cent growth, which increased the market capitalisation of the bourse by N6.58 billion to N1.846 trillion from the previous day’s N1.840 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 11.23 points during the trading session to 3,153.87 points from the previous session’s 3,142.64 points.

Data showed that four securities were responsible for the jump recorded by the unlisted securities market yesterday, overpowering the decline suffered by a stock.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc topped the gainers’ group after its value increased by N3.24 to close at N40.98 per unit versus the previous closing value of N37.74 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc added 21 Kobo to settle at N2.31 per share compared with midweek’s price of N2.10 per share, UBN Property Plc gained 20 Kobo to end at N2.16 per unit versus N1.96 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc grew by 12 Kobo to finish at N1.41 per share, in contrast to Wednesday’s value of N1.29 per share.

On the flip side, the share price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) went down by 99 Kobo to trade at N25.99 per unit versus N26.98 per unit.

The volume of trades during the trading day was down by 82.2 per cent to 304,374 units from 1.7 million units, the value of transactions fell by 91.6 per cent to N5.2 million from N61.7 million, and the number of deals decreased by 52.5 per cent to 29 deals from 61 deals.

At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 536.9 million units worth N524.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 266.4 million units valued at N470.6 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion.

Okitipupa Plc retained its position as the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 21.7 million units sold for N833.4 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.7 million.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Despite the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealing on Thursday that inflation rate in April 2025 in Nigeria cooled to 23.71 per cent, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, the Nigerian Naira performed woefully in the various segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market against the United States Dollar yesterday.

The statistics office said the headline inflation figure for last month represents a 0.52 per cent decline from the 24.23 per cent recorded in March 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, inflation growth slowed considerably, printing at 1.86 per cent in April compared to 3.90 per cent recorded in March.

Amid this encouraging inflation data, the domestic currency lost 0.21 per cent or N3.40 against the greenback in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) during the session to close at N1,600.15/$1, in contrast to the N1,596.75/$1 it was traded on Wednesday.

Similarly, it tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N1.10 to settle at N2,126.47/£1 versus midweek’s rate of N2,125.37/£1 and slumped against the Euro by 87 Kobo to finish at N1,791.25/€1 compared with the N1,790.38/€1 it traded a day earlier.

Also, the value of the Naira declined against the Dollar in the parallel market on Thursday by N5 to end at N1,625/$1 versus the preceding day’s rate of N1,620/$1.

As for cryptocurrency market, it was mixed as the US Federal Reserve Chair, Mr Jerome Powell, said at a conference on Thursday that longer term interest rates are likely to be higher.

This news was calmed by investors banking on recent tariff developments as the US negotiates agreements with other countries. It has reached deals with the United Kingdom and China and could reach one with India soon.

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.5 per cent to sell at $103,941.43, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $100.34, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 1.3 per cent to $657.44, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.6 per cent to $2,588.88.

But, Ripple (XRP) crumbled by 3.2 per cent to $2.41, Dogecoin (DOGE) slumped by 0.9 per cent to $0.2263, Solana (SOL) went down by 0.6 per cent to $172.63, and Cardano (ADA) slipped by 0.3 per cent to $0.7830, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market was down by about 2 per cent on Thursday on expectations of a US-Iran nuclear deal that could result in sanctions being eased and more barrels released onto the global market.

This brought down the price of Brent by $1.56 or 2.36 per cent to $64.53 a barrel and weakened the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude by $1.53 or 2.42 per cent to $61.62 per barrel.

The President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, said yesterday that it was getting close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, which the oil-producing country said it “sort of” agreed to the terms.

Mr Ali Shamkhani, a top political, military, and nuclear adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mr Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the Middle East nation was ready to sign a nuclear deal with the US under certain conditions, including the US lifting the sanctions on Iran.

These comments came hours after the US Treasury slapped additional sanctions on Iran, designating nearly two dozen firms operating in multiple jurisdictions in virtually every aspect of Iran’s illicit international oil trade.

The sanctions target Iranian efforts to domestically manufacture components for ballistic missiles, the US Treasury Department said, following Tuesday’s sanctions on some 20 companies in a network that it said has long sent Iranian oil to China.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin ignored meeting face-to-face with his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Turkey on Thursday, instead sending a second-tier delegation to planned peace talks, dealing a blow to prospects for a peace breakthrough.

Due to Mr Putin’s absence, Ukraine’s president said his defence minister would head up Ukraine’s team.

If the talks hold, it will be the first direct talks between the sides since March 2022.

This is slim as Mr Trump said there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Putin.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) lifted its oil demand growth forecast in 2025 to 740,000 barrels per day, up 20,000 barrels per day from the previous report, citing higher economic growth forecasts and lower oil prices supporting consumption.

The IEA said economic headwinds and record sales of electric vehicles are expected to reduce demand growth to 650,000 barrels per day for the remainder of the year, from growth of nearly 1 million barrels per day in the first quarter.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers, (OPEC+), has been increasing supply, although OPEC on Wednesday trimmed its forecast for growth in oil supply from the U.S. and other producers outside the wider OPEC+ group this year.

Weighing on prices, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday showed crude stockpiles rose by 3.5 million barrels to 441.8 million barrels last week.