Naira Firms Up, Stock Market Surges After President’s Media Chat

Economic and finance experts have said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Monday media chat showed admirable grasp and clarity of thoughts on the nation’s macroeconomic outlook.

The financial markets reacted positively yesterday, in the first trading day after the presidential media chat.

The naira firmed up, it appreciated by four basis points to N1,540.33 per dollar. At the stock market, the benchmark equities index rose by 829.88 points to a new recent high of 102,186.03 points, implying net capital gain of N503 billion.

Reacting to the one-hour, live engagement between the president and senior journalists, business experts said the president showed a commendable understanding of policy expectations and outcomes, which could further reinforce confidence in the overall economy.

Hajiya Maryam Shettima, described the president’s media chat as a demonstration of strong leadership, which is already impacting more public confidence in his administration.

Managing Director, AIICO Capital, Dr Femi Ademola , said the president’s macroeconomic thoughts were in line with general expectations.

According to him, the presidential media chat provided very good opportunity to hear the thoughts of the president directly from him and he delivered his thoughts and actions quite very well.

“I am generally okay with his responses especially concerning the economic reforms such as fuel subsidy removal, the tax reform bills and the progress on security,” Ademola, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), said.

He noted that while the president’s candour and lack of political correctness could be misread as lacking in emotion, the president showed confidence and ability to deliver on his electoral promises.

He, however said the government needed to justify the need for borrowing and its cabinet size by outlining clear deliverables expected from such decisions.

Be that as it may, the media chat is very welcome and I hope it continues regularly as it is an opportunity to inform and educate the people directly on what the government is doing. 

Communication with the people should be 

honest, direct, simple and humble,” Ademola said.

Managing Director, Arthur Steven Asset Management, Mr Olatunde Amolegbe, said the president showed consistency of thoughts that reinforced confidence that with steady progress, Nigeria will gradually surmount current challenges.

He said: “I think on the economic front, the president was clear as to the challenges the economy is facing and what it will take to surmount them. 

I am glad that he recognised that monetary policy could do only so much to tackle the issue of inflation and he articulated the fiscal and structural issues he would aim to tackle in order to control inflation”.

He noted that the move towards a full liberalization of the economy appeared hard on the citizen because of historic default to subsidies and patch-ups, adding that a continuation of the ongoing policies would lead to a sustainable economic rebirth.

“I believe if we stay the course, as the president insists he would, then there should be light at the end of the tunnel,” Amolegbe, a former president of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), said.

Managing Director, HighCap Securities, Mr. David Adonri, said Tinubu’s delivery was both inspiring and educative.

“I listened to President Tinubu’s first media chat, quite an inspiring performance by him. He exhibited sound knowledge of economics and public finance. 

The programme was informative, engaging and confidence boosting.

“More of such chat should be organised to enable the public understand the president’s thoughts and the philosophy behind his administration’s policies, a glimpse of which he shared on Monday,” Adonri, a senior investment banker, said.

At the stock market, investors showed strong appetite across the sectors of the economy. Average year-to-date return for Nigerian equities climbed to 36.7 per cent, making Nigeria one of the three best-performing stock markets globally.

There’s nearly analysts’ consensus that Nigerian stock market would close the year stronger.

Analysts at Afrinvest West Africa said they expected the market “to sustain its broad-based bullish performance as investors continue with strategic portfolio realignment, ahead of the new year”.

Economic and finance experts have said

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Monday media chat showed admirable grasp and clarity of thoughts on the nation’s macroeconomic outlook.

The financial markets reacted positively yesterday, in the first trading day after the presidential media chat.