Stocks rose 0.47% in the week ending October 18, defying inflation concerns and the CBN’s rate hike.
Investors targeted consumer goods, industrial, and oil & gas stocks, while the listing of Aradel Holdings Plc added over ₦3.05 billion to market capitalisation, boosting gains.
In the week ending Friday, October 18, Nigeria’s equities market posted a 0.47 percent rise, defying expectations linked to the latest inflation figure released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Despite inflation concerns and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent hike in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which analysts thought would make investors more cautious, the market showed surprising resilience.
Throughout the week, investors focused on securing value in consumer goods, industrial, and oil & gas stocks, even as profit-taking impacted the banking and insurance sectors.
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Despite a lack of strong positive signals in the market, the listing of Aradel Holdings Plc on the Nigerian Bourse added over ₦3.05 billion to the market capitalisation, providing a key boost to the market’s performance.
Nigeria’s inflation rose sharply to 32.70 percent in September, driven by higher petrol prices, reversing two months of earlier decline.
However, this economic pressure did not stop the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index and market capitalisation from closing the week higher at 98,070.28 points and ₦59.425 billion, respectively.
As investors sought opportunities in fundamentally sound stocks, the equities market ended the week in the green.
Year-to-date returns reached 31.16 percent, though the market was down by 0.50 percent for the month.
