Operators and major stakeholders at the Nigerian Stock Exchange have expressed positive reactions on the recovering of the capital market in 2017.
Available data at the nation’s bourse showed that the market recorded a decline of 6.2 per cent in 2016 as the index posted a loss for the third consecutive year on the back of weaker domestic macroeconomic fundamentals and high discount rate, which pressured earnings of companies and also weighed on investors’ sentiment.
Speaking on the outlook for 2017, the Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Financials, Mr. Adekunle Onabolu, said the year 2017 is a year of hope, adding that macroeconomic policy with strong strategic insight would provide the platform and delivery system to improve economic activities in the capital market.
He expressed optimism that there would be improvement at the Federal Government level in 2017, going by the various fiscal policy measures being articulated to stimulate the economy.
Nigeria’s foreign reserves would likely improve in 2017 with sustained stability in crude oil production output and through a progressively diversified export revenue structure
He also said Nigeria’s foreign reserves would likely improve in 2017 with sustained stability in crude oil production output and through a progressively diversified export revenue structure. “Along with this, the real sector performance will improve, productivity growth will register and the GDP growth will rise,” he said.
He observed that the Federal Government’s planned investments in infrastructure would further stimulate this process and open up relatively new growth pathways. On how to sustain the capital market, he urged the operators and investors to look more at the medium and long-term investment windows, rather than being caught by the syndrome of short-term speculative actions, explaining that short -term speculative actions could harm the market and do nobody any good. Managing Director, Highcap Securities Limited, Mr David Adonr, anticipated a better capital market in 2017.
He said, “We expect that 2017 will be a better year for the capital market with new listings and renewed interest from Foreign Portfolio Investors, who are already looking at opportunities in emerging markets as a result of the spate of uncertain political climate in both the United Kingdom (BREXIT) and the United States (Trump Presidency).
Also the new oil deal is expected to see crude oil prices rise significantly from current levels. “We also expect some pass through effect of intervention policies by the Federal Government in the local economy to manifest in 2017. Overall, we are optimistic that 2017 will be a better year for the economy.”
He also expressed hope that 2017 will usher in improvements in most of these macroeconomic indicators, adding, “These will of course rub off on the stock market. As oil prices rise we are going to see improvement in our economic activities and of course our reserves.” He added that he foresaw “quality improvement in our non-oil exports in2017, which will have positive impact on our economy.”
