Oil prices rise as NSE market capitalisation goes up N22bn

Brent crude was on track for its third weekly gain on Friday, supported by an optimistic report from the International Energy Agency.

Still, analysts cautioned that a large glut of oil remained, with Goldman Sachs warning that U.S. crude could saturate storage in the coming months.

U.S. crude futures were trading at 38.64 dollars a barrel, up 80 cents from their last close, having hit a 2016 high of 38.96 dollars earlier in the day.

Brent crude futures were at 40.65 dollars a barrel, up 60 cents, and on track for their third weekly gain in a row.

“We expect a decision next week on imposing sanctions on these three,” said one EU diplomat.

He stressed that EU foreign ministers are not expected to decide on Monday but that a decision could come later in the week.

Meanwhile, transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed yesterday on a bullish note with market capitalisation appreciating marginally by N22 billion or 0.25 per cent.

The transaction closed at N8.94 trillion from the N8.92 trillion recorded on Thursday.

Also, the All-Share Index, which opened at 25,923.77 improved by 64.63 points or 0.25 per cent to close at 25,988.40. Mobil led the gainers’ chart by N11.05 to close at N171 per share.

Total Oil followed with a gain of N7.05 to close at N150 per share, while Nigerian Breweries grew by N3.5 to close at N100 per share. FlourMill appreciated by N1.78 to close at N20.16 per share and Oando Oil rose by 49k to close at N5.35 per share.

On the other hand, Nestle led the losers’ with a N10 loss to close at N690 per share, while Dangote Cement depreciated by N1.01 to close at N164 per share. Access Bank lost 22k to close at N4.42 per share, while GTBank and Zenith bank dipped by 5k each to close at N16.25 and N12.35 per share, respectively.

FBN Holdings emerged as the most traded equity, accounting for 23.98 million shares worth N88.62 million, while Fidelity Bank followed with an exchanged 16.12 million worth N19.91 million. Trascorp sold 15.68 million shares worth N18.91 million and Zenith Bank traded 15.22 shares valued at N188.75 million. In all, investors exchanged a total of 165.98 million shares worth N1.30 billion in 2,895 deals. The volume represented 46 per cent decrease over the 310.65 million shares valued at N2.06 billion traded in 3,010 deals on Thursday.