By Chinwendu Obienyi
Nigeria’s stock market closed the month of November posting the biggest monthly gain in almost two years as investors garnered a total of N2.35 trillion.
Daily Sun investigations showed that the market capitalisation which opened the month on Monday, November 2 at N15.957 trillion in market capitalisation and 30,530.69 in index, rose to N18.3091 trillion and 35,530.14 index points on Monday, November 30, hence earning about N2.35 trillion or 14.7 per cent month-on-month (MoM).
Further analysis revealed that Nigerian stocks hit 30.48 per cent year to date (ytd) and according to market watchers, the market remains on track to reverse the losses of the last two years. The stock market has attracted significant demand from institutional and retail investors seeking higher returns on their investments. With interest rates on alternative investments such as fixed income, hundreds of billions of local investor cash flowed into the stock market sending the bulls raging.
Although investors’ appetite for stocks in the new month of December has reduced, market analysts who spoke with Daily Sun via telephone believe Nigerian stocks have benefitted from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy on lowering interest rates.
A stockbroker who pleaded for anonymity, said: “Yes we have seen the gain recorded in November despite the weak macroeconomic situation in the country at the moment. We are now on the cusp of a new market order. If interest rates remain this low, we will continue to see a stock market that will be robust and resilient.”