Economy Watch

NSE optimistic on Domestic Investors’ Drive for Economy

-By Victoria Opeyemi

As the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic slows down a renewed social and economic activities, the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) all share index recorded 50% increase to close the year 2020 at N40,270 points while the equity market capitalisation appreciated from N12.7 trillion in 2019 to N21.06 trillion in 2020.

According to Oscar Onyema, CEO NSE, “the market entered a much-appreciated borrower following the much declaration by the US presidential election, unattractive fix income yield and better than expected corporate earnings. The NSE all share index recovered from Q1 2020 to close the year at N40,270 points and raise losses of about 14.9% recorded in 2019.”

The CEO NSE, made it known that domestic investors dominate market activities in 2021, “with regards to EFEX challenges, we really believe that it is going to just have its way through given the economy realities that Nigeria faces. So, in that context we continue to believe that the domestic investors are probably going to dominate the market activities in 2021.”

Razia Khan, an economist, posited that “the whole idea of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, savings of any willful not necessarily spending it, reliance on fiscal rules, is not important. But the key priority for Nigeria must be how to make the other economic activities count and how to make it count from revenue perspective.”

The marginal reopening of businesses, normalization of the economy and revenue diversification drive of the Nigerian government should be added to elicit positive sentiment in the market throughout the year  

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