Tinubu triggers biggest first day stock market rally since 1999

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu now holds the record for the Nigerian leader to trigger the biggest gain in the stock market on his first day of office since 1999.

On Tinubu’s first day in office, Nigerian stocks gained 5.23 percent, the biggest jump this year after the former Lagos state governor announced wide reaching reforms the market has longed for.

That’s also the biggest stock market gain recorded on the first day of office of any Nigerian president since 1999.

In Olusegun Obasanjo’s first day in office in 1999, the stock market declined 0.1 percent. On Musa Yar’Adua’s first day in 2007, the market was unmoved while it gained 0.1 percent on Goodluck Jonathan’s first day in 2011. In 2015, the stock market retreated by 0.8 percent, according to NGX data.

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Tinubu scrapped the petrol subsidy on his first day of office, with the price more than doubling to between N488 and N537 across Nigeria. He has also given a marching order to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to unify the country’s multiple exchange rates which have deterred foreign investment in the stock market.

Investors are excited that Tinubu has wasted no time in implementing badly-needed reforms that have held back economic growth.

The expectation is for the stock market to continue on an upward trend in coming weeks as better clarity around the foreign exchange market emerges.