Another Negative Year as Stock Market Sheds 6.2% in 2016

MARKET NEWS

The Nigerian stock market went down by 6.17 per cent in 2016, making it the third consecutive decline as economic headwinds affected investors’ participation in the market.
However, the decline in 2016 is lower that what was recorded in 2014 and 2015 when the market dipped by 16.1 per cent and 17.4 per cent respectively.

Specifically, the Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index fell from 28,624.25 at the beginning of the year to 26,874.62 translating to a decline of 6.17 per cent.
The market has suffered from low patronage due to many factors including unfavourable policies, devaluation of naira among others. Although  the market rebounded in the last two months of the year, that positive  performance was not enough reverse the  losses recorded in the earlier months.

Some stakeholders  had last week explained the poor performance of the market in 2016. For instance, the Managing Director of APT Securities and Funds Plc, Garba Kurfi, said  the market has never in the past 25 years experienced three consecutive years of decline.
“Most of the stocks are in their lowest prices of over 15 years or even more. The foreign investors that used to patronise the market with over 50 years turnover have moved elsewhere. However, once the recession is over, hopefully, by next year, the market will also improve,” Kurfi said.

Founding member of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo, said the  market is always the reflectors of every nation’s economic indicators and since we are  in recession, we couldn’t have performed better. He noted, however, that we may be on the way  out of the woods.
To  Mr. Adeniyi  Adebisi of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN),  the stock  market has lived up to its major characteristic of price fluctuation, noting that in 2016 the market experienced  more of ‘downs’ than ‘ups.’

“This is the year the retail or small scale shareholders qualify more to be described as an  endangered specie. We have had more sellers than purchasers of shares thereby depleting the ranks of this vibrant class of players in the capital market. There has been nothing of note to persuade big and foreign investors to come back to the market since the collapse that followed the pre and post 2008 boom,” Adebisi said.

 

Related Articles