Nigeria Content Online

Trading activities
at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) witnessed a negative performance
on Thursday after recording an improvement the previous day.

The market
capitalisation of the 201 First-Tier equities closed lower yesterday at
N8.504 trillion after opening the day at N8.529 trillion, reflecting
0.29 per cent decline or N25 billion losses; about N87 billion gains
were recorded after Wednesday’s trading.

The number of
gainers at the close of trading session yesterday closed higher at 25
stocks compared to the 23 recorded on Wednesday, while losers closed
lower at 31 stocks as against the 33 recorded the previous day.

Meanwhile, the NSE
said four more stockbroking firms have met the N70 million minimum
capital base requirements instructed by the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The companies are Yobe Investment and Securities Limited,
Quantum Securities Limited, PIPC Securities Limited, and Nigerian
Stockbrokers Limited.

Afrinvest equally
announced in a statement that the Exchange “has removed the firm from
the list of suspended stockbrokers and restored our trading privileges
as of today, 10 February 2011.”

Trading hours

The NSE, on
Thursday, said the extension of its trading hours by two hours
accounted for 50.52 per cent of traded shares in the first two months
of the extension.

The Interim
Administrator of the NSE, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, had said the extension
“was a strategic move to reposition the market for enhanced
competitiveness which would give foreign investors, especially those in
the United States of America, opportunity to participate in the
Nigerian market.”

Wole Tokede, the
Exchange’s spokesperson, said, “Out of the 171.875 billion shares
traded between 6 December, 2010, and 4 February, 2011, the two-hour
added time (between 12.30pm and 2.30pm) accounted for a total of 86.834
billion shares traded, while the initial three hours (between 9.30 am
and 12.30pm) accounted for 85.041 billion.”

Mr. Tokede said the
extension “has continued to yield positive results as the market has
continued to record improvement in volume, value, and the number of
deals.”

Available data for
the two months preceding the extension of the trading hours with the
two months of the extension shows that the volume of shares traded
recorded a growth of 31.93 per cent. The market recorded 13.892 billion
shares in the two months preceding the extension, while the volume of
shares transacted in the two months after the extension rose to 18.328
billion units.

The market value
also recorded a growth of 16.81 per cent in the review period. As
against the value of N147.142 billion recorded in the two month prior
to the extension, shares value now stand at N171.875 billion in the two
months after the extension.

The Exchange also
recorded growth in the number of deals in the review period. A total of
171.875 billion deals were executed in the two months of extension
compared to a total of 147.142 billion deals executed in the two months
before the extension. This represents a growth of 16.81 per cent.