Wole Olajide
The Nigerian stock market without a doubt in 2022 performed excellently well, despite the obvious economic challenge across the globe, returning 19.98%.
One of the events that shook the world economy in 2022 was the war the between Russia and Ukraine which as a matter of fact is yet to end. The ripple effect of the war, coupled with rising inflation is capable of bringing down the morale of the investing public, and in effect bring down the capital market. The Nigerian Bourse, however weathered the storm, closing the year on bullish note.
Commenting on the market performance in 2022, the MD/CEO of Global View Capital Limited, Aruna Kebira stated thus:
“The stock market would have returned the highest in its recent history in 2022 but by February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin of Russia sent his forces to invade Ukraine and that rift has persisted even into 2023.
The world supply chain was disrupted, scarcity of bare necessities became the order of the day. Because of the role and position in the world supply of Oil and Gas and Wheat of Russia and Ukraine, inflation crept into the world economies leading to Central Banks increasing interest rates in order to be able to stem the rising inflation attending this invasion.
The stock market which has never stand aloof of the microeconomics variables, began to feel the heat and most stocks ended up with their new 52 weeks low prices.
But it is often said that whatever comes down will eventually go up and coupled with the numbers emanating from the stables of the issuers, the stock market began to find its feet again. And as ended the year positive.
If the analysts’ predictions were anything to go by, the stock market would have returned negative.
But the 2022 stock market saw the CBN increasing rates for four consecutive times and inflation peaking at 21%.
Kudos should be given to the domestic investors who have decided to take their own destinies in their hands
Outlook for 2023
The MD/CEO of Global View Capital Limited, Aruna Kebira, projected a positive outlook for the year 2023.
The Capital Market guru stated thus:
“2023 is an election year and the citizens always anticipate a better government from the newly elected one.
The last Q3 earnings reports available at the market place were actually not disappointing and most exceeded the market’s expectation.
The NGX has mandated all issuers to release their management reports otherwise called unaudited reports to the market in the first 60 days after the end of financial year while awaiting the Audited Report.
In the last days of December 2022, it was observed that all the issuers that come to the market with notices of Board meetings were compensated by the market in anticipation of the release of their unaudited reports.
All these are going to shape the start of the market which will eventually drive it northward except there is another unforeseen circumstance lurking around the corner.
Nevertheless, the discovery of the monumental oil theft in the Niger Delta region of the country has put a hold on the hemorrhage on the national capacity of daily oil production.
At the last check, Nigeria daily oil output has increased from 900m to about 1.3m bpd. That is a cheering news to all the oil and Gas stocks listed on the exchange and when that numbers begin to grow and eventually reached our daily output limit, there would be a multiplier effect across the country, inflation will eventually be tamed while interest rates will begin to moderate.
Be that as it may, the stock market would begin to thrive and boom”.