Nigerian Equity Market Sheds N89bn Amid Rate Hike Fallout

The Nigerian equity market dipped by N89 billion on Wednesday following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to hike interest rates.

Both the all-share index and market capitalization plunged by 0.16 percent to 98,128.00 basis points and N55.509 trillion, respectively.

This downturn caused the market’s year-to-date return to moderate to 31.23 percent, reflecting the impact of the MPC’s decision on investor sentiment.

Among the top gainers at the close of trading were Tantaliser, Wapic, Omatek, Julius Berger, and Wapco. Conversely, TIP, Multiverse, Cornerst, and Deapcap led the laggards, showcasing the uneven performance across different sectors.

Accesscorp emerged as the most traded stock by volume, with 35.57 million units traded in 606 deals, while GTCO took the lead as the most traded security by value, amounting to N1.35 billion in 403 deals.

The market’s sectoral performance was also mixed, with two out of five sectors closing positively, two closing negatively, and one remaining flat.

The banking and insurance sectors experienced losses of 2.01 percent and 0.87 percent, respectively, due to portfolio rebalancing by investors following the MPC’s decision.

In contrast, the oil and gas sector remained unchanged, while the industrial and consumer goods sectors saw marginal increases of 0.18 percent and 0.02 percent, respectively.

Analysts from Meristem expressed their outlook, anticipating continued lackluster sentiment in the equities market following the MPC’s contractionary stance.

However, they also expect buying interest to surface in stocks trading at attractive entry points, particularly as the sell-off pressure in the banking sector is projected to ease in the near term.

The market’s reaction underscores the sensitivity of investors to monetary policy decisions and highlights the importance of closely monitoring regulatory actions for their impact on market dynamics and investment strategies.