Buhari’s victory triggers N903b gain in NSE capitalisation

Daily Independent NG, reports that the successful conclusion of the Presidential election with the announcement of Buhari as winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), market capitalization has jumped by N903.435 billion or 8.42 per cent. Capitalisation closed at a new high of N11.62 trillion, while the All-Share index similarly rose by 2,635 basis points or 8.30 percent, the most among 93 global indices tracked by Bloomberg.


In what showed that the successful election was a confidence booster, 65 stocks recorded gainers, many of them strong, leaving just three others on the decliners’ side. The gainers included Nestle, N47.00 each; Seplat Petroleum Development Company, N31.50 per share; Dangote Cement, N16.40; Forte Oil, N18.14 and Nigerian Breweries, N14.64.

The surge was the most significant since March 2010, which was the height of a nine-day rally, the longest since December 2012.

According to research analysts at Lagos-based investment banking group- Dunn Loren Merrifield Limited, “the last time the index recorded such a day-on-day performance was May 30, 2014, with a 1,188-point gain.

“We believe the key driver of the positive market reaction is a direct result of the successful conduct of Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election and the resultant calm political atmosphere,” the report made available to our correspondent added.

As a result of the recovery by mid- and large-cap stocks, year-to-date loss on the bourse reduced to 0.78 per cent, “with a substantial improvement in market breadth. In addition, all NSE sectoral indices closed higher on the day, with NSE-industrial (+9.76 per cent) taking the lead.