The nation’s capital market recorded low performance in the month of October, declining by N2.57 trillion.
The NGX trading result for the period showed that market capitalisation of listed equities declined by 9.73 per cent to close at N23.877 trillion from N26.451 trillion it opened for the month.
The NGX All Share Index also depreciated by 5185.08 basis points or 10.58 per cent to close at 43839.08 points from 49024.16 points reported on September 30, 2022.
In the month of September, the market capitalisation dipped by N429 billion or 1.60 per cent while NGX All Share Index fell by 812.25 basis points to 49024.16 points from 49836.51 it closed in the month of August.
The NGX trading result within the period indicated that out of the 11 NGX sectoral indices, eight of them recorded low performance, one (NGX-AFR Bank Value Index) increased slightly, the NGX Banking Index depreciated by 375.01 points down from 379.20 points printed in September.
The NGX Main-Board Index closed in negative direction, dropping by 322.96 basis points or 14.34 percent to 1,928.63 points at the end of October down from 2,251.59 points reported at the end of September. The NGX Premium Index also dropped by 227.59 basis points or 5.12 percent to 4,210.81 points within the period under review, dropping from 4,438.40 points at close of transactions in September.
Capital market operators attributed the poor performance of the market in the month of October to the challenges experienced in both the domestic and global economy arising from insecurity, inflation, hike in interest rate and Russia-Ukaraine war.
They explained that the loss suffered by the equity market during the period was due to the movement of financial assets from the stock market which depends on micro economy activities and monetary policies.
Commenting on the performance of the market in October, a financial analyst, Kingsley Egbueche said that increase in interest rate, inflation and rising insecurity in the country has continued to impact negatively on the transactions in the nation’s capital market.
He said that it will take longer for investors, especially foreign investors, to rekindle interest in the stock market because the economy is becoming too fragile and the environment is not safe for investment.
He also said that with the Central Bank of Nigeria interest rate hike the market witnessed sudden migration from the equities market to fixed income.
Egbueche said that there is need for people to have knowledge on the time to invest money in the stock market, adding that whenever the market is volatile instead of migrating, it is the time for equity investors to take position, particularly on dividend paying stocks pending when the economic activities normalises.
