Nigerian stocks closed the first half down with average loss of 8.80 per cent, equivalent to net capital depreciation of N1.14 trillion as investors struggled with a threesome of domestic macroeconomic uncertainties, global decline in crude oil price and trade wars and the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.
With net loss of about N2.68 trillion in first quarter 2020, the half-year return, though negative, indicated considerable recovery within the second quarter. Nigerian equities recorded positive average return of 14.12 per cent in the second quarter, equivalent to net capital gains of N1.656 trillion for the three-month period. The ASI had closed March 2020 at 21,300.47 points.
At the official Investors and Exporters Foreign Exchange Window , Naira dropped by 0.13 per cent to N386.50/$ as foreign exchange liquidity remained tight with demand for dollars outweighing supply. President, Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders , Dr. Faruk Umar, said the outlook for the second half at the Nigerian stock market would be mixed with the impact of COVID-19 weighing more heavily in the third quarter and a recovery in the fourth quarter.