New Telegraph

Stock market: Investors gain N331bn in August

Equity trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday closed the month of August on the positive note with a gain of N331 billion.

 

Boosted by the remote trading, the equity market defied the negative impact of the continuous spread of COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian economy as investors leveraged on undervalued stocks.

 

Activities on the stock market, which opened the trading month at N12.881 trillion in market capitalisation and 24,693.73 in index on 1st August, closed at N13.212 trillion and 25,327.13 index points on 31st August, hence has earned monthly gain of about N331 billion or 2.57 per cent.

 

The All-Share Index also grew by 633.4 basis points or 2.57 per cent. The index measures the performance of the stock market and also reflects how prices of stocks have moved, which in turn determines how much investors made as gains or losses.

 

To maintain the integrity of the market and in order for it to continue to stimulate economic growth, the NSE activated its business continuity plan on March 23, 2020 following COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Through the activation, the Exchange has continued trading during normal hours and days by providing remote trading access for Dealing Member Firms through FIX Protocol and Virtual Private Network (VPN) platforms. Buying sentiment towards the All Share Index (ASI) found further support from some resilient blue chip firms during the month under review.

 

According to the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefele, the Nigerian economy is still very strong and resilient in the face of COVID-19 with the banking sector weathering the current storm.

 

Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda, pledged to make the capital market more accessible to Nigerians in a bid to attract more investors. Yuguda, who spoke during an interview recently, said this would help attract more retail investors to the capital market and ensure steady growth.

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