The Nigerian naira appreciated against the dollar on Monday as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) maintained a bullish run — which has been on for nearly a month.
NSE gained 417 billion on Monday as the market capitalisation crossed the N11 trillion mark for the first time in 2017.
The market, which closed at N10,845,347,307,117.93 on Friday, appreciated to N11,262,526,136,498.84 within the six trading hours of Monday — registering the best indices for the year.
Banking stocks were the most traded stocks at the exchange on Monday, with First Bank, FCMB, Fidelity, Zenith and Skye bank, leading the pack.
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Nestle and Dangote Cement stayed strong on the top gainers, with a share price of N955 and N210 respectively — from N918.76 and N192.93 on Friday.
At the parallel market, the naira also appreciated from 370 per dollar on Friday to about 368 in Lagos, while the pound and euro traded at N475 and N405 respectively.
Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, believes the bullish trend is as a result of investors confidence in the Nigerian market.
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“The subtle signs of stability remain visible with Nigeria’s stock exchange edging higher amid the improving sentiment while the one billion Federal Government Euro bond on the NSE continues to verify how confident foreign investors have become with regards to Nigeria’s future,” he said.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) believes the bank’s foreign exchange policy has been largely influential in restoring investors confidence.
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