The Nigeria stock exchange (NSE) market drove a year-end bull run in 2020 despite the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which caused a major downturn in the country’s economy.

Amongst 93 global equity indices monitored by Bloomberg, the NSE All-Share Index (ASI) appeared as the best-performing index in the world, surpassing the S&P 500 (+16.26%), Dow Jones Industrial Index (+7.25%), and other global and African market indexes, to post a one-year return of +50.03%.

Despite the strong performance by the bourse in the previous year, domestic and foreign portfolio dipped significantly in the month of January 2021. This is according to the NSE domestic and foreign portfolio investment report published on its website.

READ: Nigeria’s total public debt rises to N32.2 trillion ($84.57 billion) as at September 2020.

Specifically, the total transactions in the month of January 2021 stood at N232.46 billion, a 13.7% decline compared to N269.24 billion recorded in the previous month.

Also, total foreign transactions in the equities market stood at N47.52 billion in January 2021. This represents a decline of 32% when compared to N69.92 billion recorded in December 2020 and a 32.4% decline compared to N70.32 billion in the corresponding period of 2020.

Breakdown

• Total foreign transactions in the month of January stood at N47.52 billion, while domestic transactions stood at N184.94 billion.
• Foreign transactions accounted for 20.44% of the total transactions recorded in the bourse, a decline compared to 25.97% and 29.86% recorded in December 2020 and the corresponding period of 2020 respectively.
• On the other hand, domestic transactions accounted for 79.56% in the month under review, an increase compared to 74.03% and 70.14% recorded in December 2020 and January 2020 respectively.
• Foreign inflows dipped by 20.9% from N21.14 billion recorded in December 2020 to N16.73 billion in January 2021.
• Also, foreign outflows decreased by 36.9% to stand at N30.79 billion in January 2021.
• However, domestic transactions stood at N184.94 billion in January 2021. This represents a 7.2% decline compared to N199.32 billion recorded in the previous month while it increased by 11.9% compared to the corresponding period of 2020.

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According to the report, Institutional Investors outperformed Retail Investors by 28%. A comparison of domestic transactions in the current and prior month (December 2020) revealed that retail transactions increased by 10.16% from N61.22 billion in December 2020 to N67.44 billion in January 2021.

Also, the institutional composition of the domestic market decreased by 14.91% from N138.09 billion in December 2020 to N117.5 billion in January 2021.

A look at Historic data shows that over a fourteen (14) year period, domestic transactions decreased by 59.54% from N3.556 trillion in 2007 to N1.439 trillion in 2020 whilst foreign transactions increased by 18.45% from N616 billion to N729 billion over the same period.

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Why this matter

The performance of the stock market in 2020 was met with caution as the All-share index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange declined in the first month of 2021. This could be attributed to profit-taking move by stock market investors and uncertainty surrounding the Nigerian economic landscape.

The fast-rising Nigerian stock broking application, Bamboo, is currently offering an exchange rate of N492 to the dollar.

About two weeks ago,  the Nigerian stock trading app offered an exchange rate of about N484 to $1.

The green-colored trading app known for allowing local-based Nigerians to invest in stocks listed on the world’s biggest stock market (New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ) is currently offering its users a premium of more than 20% compared to the official exchange rate set by the Nigerian apex bank.

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That being said, Nairametrics’s most recent research observed Chaka. ng offers the lowest exchange rate charge of N480 to 1$, other Nigerian-based stock trading apps that include Throve and Risevest currently offer their clients N491.68 and N486 to $1 respectively.

In addition, other leading fintech platforms reviewed by Nairametrics also presently offer exuberant rates as high as about N519 to a dollar, thereby adding more transaction costs on a significant number of Nigerians hoping to trade such financial assets.

A growing number of Nigerians are currently increasing their exposure to the U.S stock market taking to the current bearish trend that is being witnessed in the Nigerian Equity market and growing urge in hedging against the weakening local currency.

Consequently, a lot of Nigerians are flocking the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the account it has about 2,800 companies listed, while the NASDAQ has about 3,300 stocks listed. This gives Nigerian investors numerous options where they can invest their money. It is also why the US economy attracts billions of dollars in portfolio investments annually.

READ: Many Nigerians are trooping into foreign stock markets

Bamboo is an investment platform that gives Africans real-time access to invest in or trade over 3,500 stocks listed on the American and Nigerian exchanges right from their smartphones or personal computer.

In partnership with US-based Drive Wealth LLC, Bamboo provides seamless, secure access to US and Nigerian securities.