The Head, Equity Research, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Tunde Abidoye, speaking at a virtual media engagement on Wednesday, said, “It is looking set to be another weak year for equities as currently ASI is down by -4.6 per cent year to date after two straight years of losses.”
He explained that year-to-date, the NSE had underperformed relative to most markets excluding Kenya, which stood at -16.3 per cent. Looking at historical performance since 2017, the NSE’s underperformance is even worse at -3.8 per cent return versus about +51 per cent, +108 per cent and +12 per cent for the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Johannesburg exchanges. Kenya also returned +5 per cent.
The key drivers include issues around foreign exchange liquidity, lower oil prices, reversal of capital flows following the COVID 19 pandemic, and weak GDP growth . Abidoye noted that although the market had clawed back a bit of its losses since in April, stocks were still looking very cheap based on fair value estimates.All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.