after the successful conduct of the March 29, 2015
presidential elections, eventually won by General
Muhammadu Buhari of the opposition All
Progressives Congress (APC).
The fortunes of the Nigerian economy
tremendously improved just a day after the
election results were realized in favour of the
former head of state. For instance, the hitherto
battered naira gained much ground on
Wednesday, April 1, 2015, with the local currency
trading at N205 to $1. The naira appreciated
further on Thursday, April 2, with a gain of over
N1.
By Friday, it was obvious the forex crisis that saw
the naira exchanging at over N230, weeks back, is
almost over as exchange stood at a record N190
to $1 at the parallel market.
The market remained stable all through Easter, as
financial experts predict it would even be better in
the weeks ahead the inauguration of the new
Buhari administration.
"The forex crisis was actually caused by several
factors, some of which were induced by
Nigerians. I don't want to call names. It was also a
matter of perception. For instance, politicians
flooded the country with foreign currencies,
especially the US dollar. It was this illegal
transaction that pushed the dollar up against the
naira. And now, the elections are winding up, the
runs on the naira is gradually being halted. It also
happens that the optimism that greets a new
government would also affect the economy in a
positive sense. By and large, the future is bright,
every other thing being equal", Miss Gloria
Nwagbara, an economist opined in phone
interview with ENCOMIUM Weekly on Friday, April
3, 2015.
Also in a positive run is the Nigerian stock market
which lost over 4 trillion as a result of the air of
uncertainty that prevailed during the campaigning
for the 2015 general elections. Interestingly, both
foreign and local investors fled the capital market
in anticipation of post election violence.
But the peaceful election and its welcome
outcome has now given boost to the stock market
that maintained a bearish trend these past weeks.
The good news is that the market gained over N1
trillion in just two days on a positive run of 17.60
percent weekly rise. The market reacted positively
to Buhari's early lead as the Nigerian Stock
Exchange all share index and market
capitalization rose by 1.73 percent each.
The next day, as the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) started announcing
the results of the presidential election from the
states, both indicators edged higher by 2.13
percent. Confidence in the market dramatically
surged on Wednesday, April 1, following General
Buhari's win. In fact, the market recorded its
biggest jump of 8.33 percent all share index and
market capitalization in a single day.
In the last trading day (Thursday April 2), it gained
additional 3.92 percent to close the bullish week
and bring the total appreciation of the market
indications to a positive 17.60 percent. And that is
N12.135 trillion as against the market
capitalization of 10.717 trillion recorded the
previous days.
We also found out the stock market was almost
crashing before the sudden surge in its fortunes.
A review of the capital market as at March 16,
2015, when tension was really high showed that
market capitalization was only N9.984 trillion
while the all share index was 29,929.56.
This sign posts a recorded leap indeed, as the
current share index is well over 34,380.14.
Reviewing the performance of the market, so far,
analysts said the positive runs would however, be
sustained at a moderate level. They reasoned that
the euphoria of the positive rise largely from the
peaceful elections portends good tiding for not
only investors but the economy at large.
Serious concerns were raised over the grave state
of the Nigerian economy before the elections,
with all key economic indicators on the negative
side.
Things now, however appear to be getting better
with the stock market recording an
unprecedented rise in all fronts even as the
wobbling and battered naira now exchanges at
N190 to $1.
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