. Nigeria stock market advances further by N214bn
The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has described Nigeria’s new status among the top 25 economies in the world as a reflection of the hard work the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is putting into building a more resilient economy.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, BMO said that this has culminated in the country moving up from 46th to 25th position in spite of the global economic crisis caused by COVID-19.
“Much has been said about Nigeria being in a recession but we invite Nigerians to note that the country is among the top 25 economies in the world as 2020 draws to a close. It is also one of only three countries which made a quantum leap among the world’s biggest economies.
“This, more than anything, is a testament to the painstaking steps that President Buhari has been taking, since his inauguration in 2015, to build a structurally resilient economy that would withstand the type of global crisis that COVID-19 brought in its wake.
“It is a reflection of policies which began with the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) at the inception of the administration and later culminated in the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) with which the Buhari administration is creatively working its way out of a pandemic-induced recession.
“It is against this backdrop that the government is not only weaning the country away from its over-reliance on oil but also putting in place measures to boost the non-oil sector to the level that it is contributing a much higher percentage to the country’s GDP numbers.
“So it is not surprising that when Nigeria’s GDP recorded a 6.10% contraction in Q2 of 2020, at a time the global average was -15%, economic experts hailed the Nigerian government for doing a great job, and this soon dropped to 3% in Q3 of 2020″, it added.
BMO noted that the country was making great strides and attracting global acclaim at a time that a group of Nigerians were wishing the country bad.
“We saw how only a few days ago, individuals and groups who do not wish the country well jumped on a poorly thought-out editorial by the United Kingdom’s Financial Times to mock their own country just because of their ill-feelings towards a President they didn’t support in the 2015 and 2019 elections.
“But now that a globally acclaimed group of economists have ranked Nigeria among the 25 top economies in the world, using clearly verifiable indices which also put the country in the league of China and Indonesia as fastest global movers, those political naysayers have lost their voice.
“And just like we reminded those characters and others who are averse to good news, this boils down to the single-minded commitment of the Buhari administration to leaving a structurally resilient economy to Nigerians, in contrast to the culture of abandoned projects and institutionalized corruption that characterised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) years.
“This was why we said a few months ago that Nigeria would have collapsed if the former ruling party were to be in power at the centre at this time of a global pandemic, with its penchant for voodoo economics which it used to hoodwink Nigerians back then while political cronies diverted the nation’s resources”.
BMO also reassured Nigerians that the President would not rest on his oars in his remaining time in office, but continue to ensure that he makes the country better than he met it.
Meanwhile, the nation’s bourse extended bullish posture on Wednesday with the market capitalisation increasing further by N214 billion on sustained bargain hunting of blue chips.
Specifically, the market capitalisation which opened at N20.446 trillion rose by N214 billion to close at N20.660 trillion supported by interests in BUA Cement.
Also, the All-Share Index appreciated by 402.14 points or 1.03 per cent to close at 39,512.31 from 39,110.17 achieved on Tuesday.
Accordingly, month-to-date and year-to-date gain increased to 12.8 per cent and 47.2 per cent, respectively.
The uptrend was also driven by price appreciation in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; BUA Cement, International Breweries, Eterna, C & I Leasing and NEM Insurance.
Commenting, President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Olatunde Amolegbe, described the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) emergence as the best-performing stock market as good news for investors.
“This is certainly good news for investors in particular and our country in general.
“It is heartwarming, after suffering the hangover of the global financial crisis longer than most other countries.
“The most gratifying fact about this performance is that it is actually backed by fundamental performances of our quoted companies.
“The performance also underpins the need for improvement in liquidity flow to the market through various sources that we at the CIS have been advocating in the last few years.
“The reduction in interest rate and fixed income yield had been a net positive for quoted companies that are now able to borrow cheaper to finance their operations as well as for market operators that can see renewed interest in the financial markets.
“The NSE’s performance is also an affirmation of our market’s increasing correlation with other global markets,” Amolegbe said.
He expressed optimism that the trend would continue into the new year.
The CIS boss, however, urged investors speak to their certified stockbrokers before taking any investment decisions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that market breadth closed positive with 24 gainers in contrast with 19 stocks losers.
Eterna, International Breweries and BUA Cement led the gainers’ chart in percentage terms, gaining 10 per cent each to close at N5.61, 59k and N70.40 per share, respectively.
C & I Leasing followed with 9.74 per cent to close at N4.73, while Japaul Gold and Ventures went up by 9.62 per cent to close at 57k per share.
On the other hand, FTN Cocoa Processors dominated the losers’ chart in percentage terms, losing 9.88 per cent to close at 73k per share.
Deap Capital Management & Trust followed with 7.41 per cent to close at 25k, while Honeywell Flour Mill declined by 6.77 per cent to close at N1.27 per share.
Flour Mills lost 5.45 per cent to close at N26, while Union Bank of Nigeria shed 5.36 per cent to close at N5.30 per share.
Meanwhile, the total volume of shares traded declined by 48.39 per cent with a total of 372.93 million shares worth N11.50 billion in 5,186 deals.
This was against a turnover of 722.57 billion shares valued at N4.38 billion exchanged in 5,042 deals on Tuesday.
Transactions in the shares of United Bank for Africa topped the activity chart with 60.57 million shares worth N524.73 million.
Dangote Cement trailed with 33.17 million shares valued at N8.04 billion, while Zenith Bank traded 27.54 million shares worth N690.85 million.
Access Bank sold 24.45 million shares valued at N215.02 million, while Transcorp transacted 20.98 million shares worth N19.21 million.
