Nigeria’s stock market on Wednesday recorded its second decline after the benchmark interest rate was hiked to 14percent by the Central Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC).
Stock investors lost about N66billion as the market dipped further by 0.23 percent, driven by counters like Nigerian Breweries Plc and Oando Plc.
Nigerian Breweries Plc led the laggards league after its share price moved down from N53 to N49.75, losing N3.25 or 6.13percent.
It was followed by Oando Plc which decreased from N5.45 to N5.15, after shedding 30kobo or 5.50percent. NAHCO also made the top laggards list after dipping from N6 to N5.40, down by 60kobo or 10percent.
The equities market’s performance indicators – the All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation – decreased from preceding trading day’s highs of 52,308.88 points and N28.208trillion respectively to 52,186.52 points and N28.142trillion on Wednesday.
The market’s positive return year-to-date (YtD) printed lower at +22.17percent.
In 3,814 deals, investors exchanged 238,270,347 shares valued at N3.336billion. Livingtrust Mortgage Bank Plc, Nigerian Breweries, UBA, Access Holdings and FBN Holdings were top traded stocks on the Bourse.
In a related development, capital market stakeholders have called on Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and market regulator to leverage technology to enhance retail investor participation and drive listings.
This disclosure was made at the recently concluded NGX CEO Roundtable themed “Creating the Enabling Ecosystem for Accessing Capital from the Nigerian Capital Market”.
Read also: Nigeria’s stock market sees first dip on rate hike
Temi Popoola, Chief Executive Officer, NGX, noted that financial literacy and inclusion remain at the front burner for stakeholders in the capital market and the Exchange makes it a priority to contribute its quota towards the achievement of key targets of Nigeria’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy through initiatives that encourage the wider investing public to develop investment habits.
“To drive listings, we are taking a closer look at our rules to see areas of amendments to ensure companies raise capital more efficiently whilst protecting the investing public. NGX is also working with several stakeholders to ensure that the time to market and the costs for listing are optimized”, he said.
Speaking on the importance of raising awareness about the capital market, Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Communications Nigeria Plc, revealed that MTN had implemented activities in driving capital market awareness and participation across 8 locations in Nigeria. “In the world of digital information, leveraging on the digital ecosystem to really educate people on the benefits of the capital market is very critical and the capillarity that has been created by stakeholders has deepened confidence. Using the digital system to optimize the immediate distribution of shares boosts more confidence in the capital market. We need to include the capital market in the curriculum of educational institutions,” he added.
Ayodele Abioye, CEO, BUA Foods Plc further highlighted the need to drive capital market participation among youths and attract retail investors using technology. In his words, “Technology is key as we are in an industry 4.0 era where everything is smart. The younger generation wants things as quickly as possible; they want a quicker way to get their investments back and so we must think of products that can address this. With the advent of Covid-19, tech has evolved and as a result, we need to do more road shows, and set up stock exchange clubs to reach the youths”.
Haruna Jalo-Waziri, CEO, Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), said that Ponzi schemes thrive because the onboarding technique is done immediately, therefore there is a need to improve on the onboarding technique in the capital market.
According to Funso Akere, CEO, Stanbic IBTC Capital, technology plays a pivotal role in the time to market as it simplifies the process and capital market regulators would need to bring in the technology that can transform operations as well as allows for the introduction of some of the innovations already debated. Furthermore, Panellists have asked regulators to review the time to market and make the Capital market more attractive for all key players via technology.
