Again stock market closes flat as investors weigh protests across Nigeria

Nigeria’s stock market neither went up nor down on Thursday, October 15 as local and foreign investors continued to weigh the risks of holding the naira asset amid ongoing protests against police brutality. This week, the market has decreased by 0.25 percent.

The domestic market maintained the preceding day’s performance, trading sideways, and eventually closing unchanged. Most equity analysts had expected this recorded pattern, while savvy investors continue to look for attractive entry points.

The market’s positive year-to-date (YtD) return remains at +5.60 percent.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) remained at 28,344.04 points while the value of listed stocks stayed at N14.814billion.

UBA Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, GTBank Plc, Transcorp Plc, and FBN Holdings Plc were actively traded stocks on the Bourse. In 4,048 deals investors exchanged 342,193,352 units valued at N5.039billion.

Lafarge Africa Plc led the gainers’ table after its share price moved from N17.35 to N18.05, adding 70kobo while GTBank Plc dipped most from N30 to N29.5 after losing 50kobo or 1.67 percent.

Despite the recent muted activities on Custom Street, analysts believe the current price levels remain good for mid/large-cap investors while short term players are advised to trade cautiously.

Iheanyi Nwachukwu

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.