TheCable

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) gained N302 billion in five hours, after a 15-day losing streak, which saw the exchange lose 2.13 trillion in 15 days.

The exchange, which closed on Tuesday at a market cap of N7.723 trillion, was greeted by a rise on Wednesday, when it closed after five trading hours (9:30am to 2:30am) at N8.025 trillion — N302 billion higher.

The market which ended 2015 at a market capitalisation of N9.851 trillion on December 31, opened up in 2016 to close the first trading day at N9.757 trillion – about N90 billion in losses.

After the CBN decision to cease trading foreign exchange to parallel market operators, the exchange lost N430 billion in the following 48 hours.

Just into the third week of the year 2016, the bourse has seen 2.13 trillion in market capitalisation, with top listing like Nestle, already losing over N100 per share in 2016.

At the sell-down rate experienced before Wednesday, the Nigerian bourse can theoretically shut down by April 2016.

In three weeks, the bourse has lost at least 21 percent of its total 2016 value, and going by these values, it can lose the remaining 79 percent in 12 weeks.

Though experts say this is not expected to happen, but the sell down reflects the state of the economy.

Oscar Onyema, chairman of the NSE, had said he would have been bothered if Nigeria was not losing the way it was, adding that the NSE was reflecting the state of the economy.

Onyema insists that the government has been informed that there’s a problem with the Nigerian exchange, but would not be taking a kneejerk reaction.

“The exchange has informed the government that there is a problem, the government knows that there is a problem, I think that the way you approach the solution to a problem is multifaceted and we do not want to have any kneejerk reaction,” he said.