Economy
Equities Attract N485.4bn in Q2 amid Desire to Hedge Against Inflation
By Dipo Olowookere
The desire to hedge against inflation has forced some investors back into the equity market, resulting in an increase in their participation in the landscape in the second quarter of 2022 when compared with the first quarter of the year.
According to data from the bourse, in Q2 of 2022, both local and foreign investors traded N485.4 billion worth of stocks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited compared with the N346.4 billion traded in Q1 of 2022, indicating an increase of 40.11 per cent.
It was also gathered that in the period under review, traders bought and sold 54.3 billion equities, 143.83 per cent higher than the 22.3 billion equities transacted in the first three months of the year. In the same vein, the number of deals rose by 8.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 320,778 trades from 295,533 trades.
It was observed that the major attraction was some stocks with sound fundamentals as investors take a position in companies paying interim dividends as the market looks forward to half-year earnings of listed firms this month.
As a result of the buying pressure, the All-Share Index appreciated by 10.3 per cent to 51,817.59 points in Q2 2022 from 46,965.48 points in Q1 2022, while the market capitalisation grew to N27.94 trillion from N25.31 trillion.
While commenting on the trading data, the chief executive of Wyoming Capital & Partners, Mr Tajudeen Olayinka, noted that improved liquidity in the system in the last six months is responsible for the positive performance of the Nigerian stock market.
Other factors driving liquidity in the equities market, he added, are “instant payment of dividends to shareholders through electronic means (e-dividend), provides opportunities for immediate reinvestment of these dividends, especially by institutional investors, who manage funds and portfolios for clients.
“This did not leave out other traditional investors, who took advantage of low prices, in the run-up to financial year-end rallies that we saw at the beginning of the year 2022.”
He further attributed the buying interests to the “negative real return in the fixed income market and the need to hedge against inflation.”
According to him, “Equity market is an inflation adjusting market, and so, some investors who were willing to hedge against inflation, irrespective of the downside risk that the market poses, decided to bring liquidity back to the equity market.”
“The ongoing crash in the crypto market brought liquidity back to the equity market. It has been said that more Nigerian investors participate actively in the crypto space, and so, the sudden, though long expected crash in that market, made some affected Nigerian investors cut their losses, for less volatile and recoverable opportunities in the equity market.
“Availability of derivative products is encouraging more institutional investors to embrace the equity market. Investors can now short or long the market at ease. All these activities provide liquidity to the market,” Mr Olayinka further stated.
Business Post observed that in the period under consideration, the value of fixed income at the exchange rose by 38.7 per cent to N1.01 trillion from N728.9 billion reported in Q1 2022.
According to the data by the NGX, the volume of fixed income traded moved to 972,206.00 in Q2 2022 from 688,564 reported in Q1 2022, while its market capitalisation jumped to N22.23 trillion from N21.42 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
