Profit-taking reverses NSE gaining streak as index loses N50b

…As Senate C’ttee screens new SEC DG, others

Following profit-taking embarked upon by investors, the Nigerian equities market halted recent gaining streak to close on a downturn yesterday, as market capitalisation lost N50billion.
 
Precisely, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 95.91 absolute points, representing a dip of 0.38 per cent to close at 25,312.05 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation shed N50billion to close at N13.204trillion.

Meanwhile, the new Director General (DG) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda on Wednesday, appeared before the Senate Committee on Capital Market to be screened for approval.

The Senate had on May 19, 2020, received a request from President Muhammadu Buhari for the confirmation of Lamido Yuguda, as new Director-General of the commission.

Also to be screened and confirmed are three nominees as full-time commissioners.

The request comes three years after the apex capital market regulator has been operating without a substantive head, following the suspension of the former DG, Mournir Gwarzo, in 2017, on allegations of financial misconduct, unlawful carting away of sensitive documents, and unsatisfactory response to queries served on him.

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibikunle Amosun at the screening of nominees for full-time DG and Commissioners of the SEC, SEC in Abuja, yesterday, described the Nigerian Capital market as a very critical tool that could rescue the nation’s economy from the brink of recession in the face of COVID-19.

Amosun said that the capital market had the depth to revamp the nation’s poor state of infrastructure, noting that there was no better time than now for federal and state governments to leverage opportunities provided by the capital market for sourcing infrastructure financing.

“We now know what the capital market can do to rescue the economy at a time like this.

Shares are tumbling but we hope it won’t last long, however, we also have to look inward and explore ways of diversifying our economy away from crude oil.”