It’s the end of 2013 and the Nigerian Stock Exchange has indeed had a stellar year. The market has gained 48% this year a yield that is higher than other investment options out there. Treasury Bills rate for example was between 10-12% per annum, bond yields are like 16% and Fixed deposits rates about 10% per annum. Basically, if you had invested in a portfolio of all the stocks in the Nigerian Stock Exchange and held all stocks our gains would have been 48%.
There was however something else remarkable about this year as the chart above reveals. The all share index opened the year at 28,078.41and is likely to close at just about 40,000. However, a deep look at the chart reveals between Jan and June the market rose from 28,078.41 to 38,915.54 over 40% or 10,000 points. Between June 2013 and December 2013 the market has only added just under 2,000 points. So, a huge chunk of this year’s gains was in the first half of the year.
Whilst this may not mean much as other years didn’t reveal a similar pattern it could however be a sign of what to expect in 2014. If the market has almost remained flat for the other half of the year, there is every likelihood that a rally might just take place in the first half of 2014. It’s interesting isn’t it? Would be more interesting if things actually plays out next year as it did this year (2013).