Nigerian Stock Exchange CEO Stresses Importance of Market Data
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, wednesday called on operators and investors to embrace market data in the investment decisions for better results.
Onyema made the call at the second edition of the NSE Market Data, saying that when investors embrace market data, they spot the inherent opportunities or challenges and make informed decisions on their investments.
According to him, the capital market remains a very reliable forward indicator of economic direction, explaining that the capacity by which the capital market is able to exhibit this characteristic is facilitated through market data.
“There are many ways in which market data proves its value. One interesting way is in understanding economic trends. Historians are of the opinion that history always repeat itself, similarly, a familiar saying about history tells us that “history is written by the victorsâ€. If this saying is true, then it corroborates the idea that “the market always winsâ€. Market events of yesterday are written in market data, just as a book is written for its readers. So, if it is true that readers are leaders, then it is safe to conjecture that the investors who “read†market data would eventually lead the market(that is emerge profitable),†he said.
Onyema noted that disclosed that market data, the by-product of activities on the platform of the exchange, remains a key ingredient for investment endeavours.
“We intend to leverage this workshop to intimate you of new data products that will complement our existing list of non-display products, which cut across real time, reference and thematic datasets. These are designed to help unleash your creative juices and take advantage of emerging technologies such as cloud, analytics, algorithmic trading and artificial intelligence to name a few,†he said.
He noted that since the launch of X-GEN in 2013, one of the mandates of the exchange has been to make the market more accessible, using technology as an enabler.
“This was achieved with the introduction of FIX protocol as the conduit to open up instant access of the Nigerian bourse to investors, media, government, software vendors, and other capital market stakeholders. X-GEN has further accelerated financial inclusion as well as enhance investor’s participation in the capital market through initiatives like “Trade Smartâ€, for investors to trade on-the-go and at their convenience. Today, Broker-Dealers can now route orders from the convenience of their offices instead of coming to the floors of the exchange. All these and much more have been facilitated through technology with market data as the catalyst,†the NSE boss said.
