Equities market: Domestic investors take charge as foreign selloff persists in April

Residents and businesses located within the precincts of Apapa are in for longer travel time as the Lagos State government says it is closing the Marine Beach Bridge for five months for emergency repair works.

The all-important bridge, according to the state government, would be partially closed from Total Gas inwards Apapa from Wednesda As global markets continue to grapple with the impact of COVID-19 spread, the Nigerian equities market last month showed some resilience in the face of severe disruption in economic activities due to the ravaging pandemic, as domestic investors dominated market activities on the back of cheaper valuations, attractive dividend yield and low fixed income yields.

Figures released by the

Nigerian Stock Exchange in its domestic and foreign portfolio investment report for the month of April show that although total transactions at the nation’s bourse decreased by 47.03 percent from N242.91 billion in March to N128.67 billion in April 2020, the total value of transactions executed by domestic investors outperformed transactions executed by foreign investors.

Specifically, domestic investors accounted for 58.67 percent of the total transactions at the nation’s bourse in April compared to 41.33 percent by foreign investors. Largely, foreign investors’ appetite remained weak, owing to increased macroeconomic fragilities concerns on stability of the currency, while the few that participated were forced by the inability to get dollars for repatriation, compelling some to reinvest their funds.