Stock Investors Gain N1trn Amid Rising Inflation

Nigerian Stock Exchange with market operators

Stock Investors Gain N1trn Amid Rising Inflation

Despite growing anxiety about soaring inflation and volatile exchange rates, investors trading on the Nigeria’s stock market gained N1.01 trillion at the end of their transactions in the month of November.

Buoyed by a surge in investor confidence for listed corporates, they traded with optimism as most companies’ 9Months 2023 earnings trickled in. Notable among activities in the market during the was the listing of 4 billion ordinary shares of Mecure Industries Limited, a pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacturing company, at N2.96 per share on the NGX growth board.

This addition pumped N11.84 billion into the Exchange’s market capitalisation, injecting fresh liquidity into the Nigerian capital market and opening new avenues for wealth generation.

The development translated to the buying patterns, driving the market’s All-Share Index (ASI) to close the month of November at 71,365.25 points from the opening value of 69,236.19 points, representing a 3.08 per cent increase from the previous month. The year-to-date (YTD) return of the NGX All-Share Index now stands at an impressive 39.25 per cent.

Further analysis revealed that activities on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) which opened the trading month at N38.038 trillion in market capitalisation at the beginning of trading, closed the month at N39.051 trillion, translating to N1.013 trillion gain.

The gain seemed to galvanise sentiments as the equities market saw an uptick, driven by bargain hunting in Seplat (+10 per cent) and Nestle (+9.5 per cent). Consequently, the All-share Index advanced by 0.3 per cent week-on-week (w/w). Trading activity was positive, as the total traded volume and value increased by 4.9 per cent w/w and 70.5 per cent w/w respectively.

Elsewhere, sectoral performance was mixed, following gains in the Banking (+1.9 per cent) and Oil and Gas (+6.0 per cent) indices and losses in the Insurance (-2.0 per cent), Industrial Goods (-1.2 per cent) and Consumer Goods (-0.5 per cent) indices.

Reacting to the development, analysts who spoke with our correspondent, said that the monthly gain was due to investors’ rebalancing their portfolios amid weak macroeconomic indices. They added that investors would trade in the new month cautiously given the lack of notable positive catalysts to stimulate sentiments.

“We expect cautious trading to persist in the domestic bourse next week. Nonetheless, we reiterate the need for investors to seek positions in only fundamentally justified stocks as the weak macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings”, analysts at Cordros Research said.

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