The Nigerian Stock Exchange’s Banking Index fell by 16 per cent in the first quarter of this year, more than any other sectoral indices, in what could be described as the worst performance by the Exchange in years.
Despite a positive outlook at the beginning of the year, quantitative easing tapering by the United States, monetary tightening by the Central Bank of Nigeria and other developments limited the performance of the Exchange.
By the end of the first quarter on March 31, the market capitalisation of the listed equities at N12.446tn was down by N780bn or 5.9 per cent, while the NSE All-Share Index’s year-to-date return stood at -6.25 per cent.
The NSE Oil and Gas Index put in a performance that was almost as bad as the Banking Index, with a decline of 15.20 per cent.
The NSE Consumer Goods Index and Insurance Index were down by 12.11 per cent and 11.28 per cent, respectively; while the Lotus Islamic Index and the Alternative Securities Market Index fell by 3.59 per cent and 1.03 per cent in that order.
Only the Industrial Index appreciated in the quarter; it rose by 1.59 per cent. – Punch.
