The central bank raised the benchmark interest rate for the fourth consecutive time on Wednesday to 16.5 per cent by a hundred basis points, a hawkish stance aiming to bring Nigeria’s galloping inflation to heel.
“We maintain our pessimistic outlook for the equities market as the market remains unattractive to investors amid the prevailing rising yield environment,” said analysts at brokerage firm and investment bank United Capital in an outlook note seen by PREMIUM TIMES. , which measures the depth of investors’ sentiment towards trade, was positive as 27 gainers emerged relative to 7 losers. The all-share index fell 266.4 points to 44,929.3, while market capitalisation declined to N24.5 trillion.UPDC REIT led gainers, appreciating by 10 per cent to close at N2.75. International Breweries went up 9.41 per cent to N4.65. Sovereign Trust rose to N0.26, notching up 8.3 per cent. Fidson added 7 per cent to end trade at N8.72. UACN completed the top 5, climbing by 6.
MTN had 12 million shares valued at N2.4 billion traded in 219 deals. AIICO traded 11 million shares estimated at N5.8 million in 58 transactions. Transcorp traded 10.2 million shares valued at N11.5 million in 52 deals.Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.