- The Nigerian stock market closed in the green today, with the All-Share Index (ASI) rising by 1.3% to cross 60,000 index points.
- The market’s positive performance is being attributed to the suspension and arrest of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and the changes to Nigeria’s foreign exchange operational framework.
- Market operators are now expecting that the reforms in the monetary and forex policy will lead to an inflow of foreign portfolio investment in the market.
Equity trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed trading on Tuesday, June 27th, 2023, in the green territory as the NGX All-Share Index appreciated by 1.3% to cross 60,000 index points.
This is the highest point the ASI has reached in over 15 years.
Investors sentiment has remained positive as the market cheered some of the economic decisions of President Bola Tinubu especially the changes to Nigeria’s foreign exchange operational framework.
President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies (which Nairametrics dubs Tinubunomics) appear to be having a ripple effect on Nigeria’s economy and it is no surprise that the capital market which is the barometer of the economy is having a positive outing.
Market performance: According to available statistics obtained by Nairametrics, the equities market on Tuesday closed with capital gains of N421 billion.
- The All-Share Index (ASI)- the barometer that measures all share prices at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), continued its winning streak as the benchmark index gained 1.30% to settle at 60,108.86 points, the highest point in over a decade (precisely 5 March 2008 when it was 66,381.20).
- Gains in MTNN (+2.77%), Zenith Bank (+4.62%), and GTCO (+5.20%) buoyed the broad market’s strong performance.
- As a result, the year-to-date (YTD) return rose to 17.28%, while market capitalization gained N421.19 billion to close at N32.73 trillion.
Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 4.01%.
A total of 763.70 million shares valued at N12.53 billion were exchanged in 9,463 deals. Access Holdings (+3.61%) led the volume chart with 111.67 million units traded while GTCO (+5.20%) led the value chart in deals worth N2.69 billion.
What operators said: Former President of the Chartered Institute of Brokers (CIS) and the Managing Director of Arthur Steven Asset Management Limited, Mr. Olatunde Amolegbe said the main driver was the beginning of the cleanup programme by the president at the CBN.
He noted that market operators now expect that the reforms in the monetary and forex policy will lead to an inflow of foreign portfolio investment in the market.
- “This was the main driver of the market. The changes at the CBN should lead to changes in the monetary and forex policies which are expected to increase foreign participation in the market.
- Recall that the previous policies of the CBN had hitherto led to a sharp drop in participation by foreign portfolio investors from 65% in 2015 to less than 10% in 2022. The new reform will lead to an increase in appetite by this class of investors in our market,” he said.
Group Executive Director, Investment Banking, Cordros Capital, Mr. Femi Ademola, said the markets appeared to have suffered significantly from the regulatory flip flops of the CBN in the past few years.
- According to him, the regular interventions in the market and the deluge of circulars and policy actions from the apex bank had resulted in volatility in the market.
- He noted that the implementation of the recent naira redesign policy affected the market quite negatively and pitched the populace against the CBN Governor.
Stocks snap 4-year losing streak: Nigerian stocks seem on track to snap a 4-year losing streak for the month of June.
- Stocks are currently up 7.78% in June and look set to close the month positively after going four years on a losing streak.
- The NGX All Share Index is also up 17.28% YTD.
Any update on capital inflows?
We expect the index to push back in Q3 especially when the current high exchange rate regime start to impact numbers
However historical highest value of the index may be surpasses at a point especially from the high inflows from PFAs, FPI, availability of profitable and less risky alternative investment etc.
The performance is very temporary and it’s not worth celebrating! Immediately Tinubu’s stifling policies start to bite we will see rapid reversal