A combination of
macroeconmic and political factors have forced the Nigerian stock market into
massive slide as the market suffered its worst week losses since after the
inauguration of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government in May. Investors
lost N271.7bn last week as market capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange
(NSE) reduced to N10.8trillion.
The market had
bounced into a frenzy of bullish run following the successful conduct of the
presidential election resulting into massive gains driven by high expectations
and positive sentiments.
But the market began
flip-flop swings week-on-week and, by June, the negative sentiments
became predominant. The market did not record a single gain in the first
10 days of July 2015.
According to
investment analysts, the sharp decline in the market performance and the
attendant huge losses to investors were due to the overwhelming influence of
the difficult macroeconomic environment which dampened investors’ sentiments.
‘’There has been a
general weakness in investors’ sentiments arising from the general
macroeconomic conditions that have worsened the profitability of quoted
companies at the stock exchange’’, Afrinvest Group, a Lagos-based investment
banking group, said last weekend.
They had linked the
weak sentiment to lack of clear economic policy direction almost two months
into the new government. Investors’ sentiments were also said to be dampened
with the announcement that ministerial list would not be ready until September,
a development which confirmed the earlier position of Renaissance Capital, a
world leader in international finance, that 2015 would be a lost year for the
Nigerian economy.
Many investment
advisers are of the view that risk in an operating environment is better than
uncertainty, describing the current operating environment in Nigeria as
dangerously uncertain and unpredictable.
At a parley
between Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (LCCI) in Lagos, last week, one of the discussants said: ‘’President
was ushered into power over a month ago amidst a frenzy of optimism and hope.
Unfortunately, all we have seen is a deafening silence on the economy that has got
potential investors glued to their cash. The president and his team are yet to
provide a visible economic direction for the country leaving potential
investors with no choice but to stay out of the market. Some who had shares
consider his muteness a bad sign and have also decided to sell-off. Investors
hate uncertainty’’.
A cursory look at
the movements in the individual sectoral indices showed that the only
month-on-month gain was recorded in the NSE Industrial Index with a gain of
1.99 per cent, as some stocks in the Index continue to offer upward potential
in their prices. All other sectoral indices recorded month-on-month losses. The
highest month-on-month loss was recorded in the NSE Banking Index with a loss
of 6.03 per cent, followed by the Insurance Index with a loss of 3.51 per cent.
Analysts at FSDH
Merchant Bank Ltd., who also agreed that the operating environment is very
unhealthy, said the outlook for July is not going to be better.
‘’We don’t expect a
major improvement in the earnings of the quoted companies in second quarter of
2015 (which would have driven a market recovery)’’, one of the analysts said.
In fact, the analysts forecast that the market may drop further this month,
adding that the policy direction of the Buhari administration may set the path
that the equity market would follow in the short term.
