Nigerian Stock Exchange Halts Trading for 30 Minutes After Gaining Above 5% Threshold

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) triggered a circuit breaker on Thursday for the first time since it was introduced in 2016 after the Exchange gained over 5 percent, the threshold set for a single day.

According to a statement put out by the Exchange, this was the first time the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) circuit breaker had kicked in since it was introduced in 2016. Meaning, this was the first time the Nigerian Stock Exchange has gained over 5 percent in a single day since 2016.

The statement reads, “The Circuit Breaker protocol was triggered by the increase of the NSE ASI from 33,268.36 to 34,959.39. The market reopened at exactly 1:25p.m. with a 10-minute intraday auction session, before resuming continuous trading till the close of the day at 2:30p.m.

“During the halt of trading, no order could be placed until trading resumed. However, existing orders could be withdrawn or canceled​ but could not be modified. Trading halts did not affect the clearing, settlement, and depository operations for matched trades, as these functioned as normal. Furthermore, all existing orders keyed in prior to the trading halt were re-activated and were matched upon resumption of trading.”

The Nigerian Stock Exchange has gained over N2 trillion or 15 percent in the last two weeks to emerged the largest gainer among 93 global stocks tracked by Bloomberg. The surprising rise in the Exchange despite weak macro fundamentals and the recent social unrest is scary, especially with demand still weak across the board and likely to remain so through the first half of 2021.

While the renewed interest in the Nigerian assets may not be unconnected to the recent monetary adjustments by the central bank, it does not seem sustainable.