Stocks defy inflation figure as market rises by 0.47% in one week

In the trading week ended Friday October 18, Nigeria’s equities market rose by 0.47 percent, defying September inflation figure which was released recently by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In addition to inflation concerns, analysts had ahead of the review week’s trading expected CBN’s recent hike in MPR to play a background role in the stock market, with investors and equity-biased fund managers adopting a more cautious approach to trading.

In the review week, investors hunted for attractive consumer goods stocks as well as industrial and oil & gas counters despite profit taking in banking and insurance stocks.

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Amid dearth of positive triggers in the market, the listing of Aradel Holdings Plc on the Nigerian Bourse in the review which added over N3.05billion to the market capitalisation was also another leverage.

Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to 32.70 percent in September on petrol price hike, marking a sharp reversal from the two-month decline witnessed earlier.

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation closed the review week higher at 98,070.28 points and N59. 425billion.

The equities market closed the week in green as many investors expectedly hunted for attractive offers across fundamentally sound stocks.

The market’s year-to-date (YtD) return stood higher at 31.16 percent while this month it has decreased by 0.50 percent.