By Providence Obuh

Now that elections are over, especially the Presidential and Governorship, shareholders in this interview are of the opinion that the market will bounce back but not recover immediately, just as they said that the foreign investors that left the market to see the outcome of the elections will return back to the market.

File photo: The floor of Stock exchange

Chairman, Nigeria Professional  Shareholders Association, Mr. Godwin Anono: The stock market  expectation is high because it has been moving up and down before election and majority of the  investors have been involved in profit taking and the foreign investors are taking a peep to see how the  market will look like, but since the elections are over I believe the market will  soon start to return to normalty but one still have to watch, it is not something you put all your eggs in one basket.

Also the regulators have to do their jobs very well this time around, and they are still trying to introduce some products like bonds, derivatives and other products but the equity market will have the lion share. Some of the companies have declared results, but the shocker of all the results is First Bank,  giving 10kobo dividend ; how can you get shares for N9.00 and then you get 10kobo dividend  and they are also giving bonus, they don’t need to give that bonus because already their share capital  have become so robust. So many companies are not suppose to be giving bonus because their share capital is already filled up.

Many investotors  will dump First Bank shares because their dividend discouraged everyone. It  is a stock that when you buy you can easily sell but it has now become a stock that you find very difficult to sell. Zenith Bank declared N1. 25, Zenith stock is one stock you are sure of getting dividend. Other banks that have declared dividend include: Diamond N10kobo and Fidelity N10kobo. There is something wrong with the banking sector, the onlysector one can actually buy shares now is manufacturing. Manufacturing would have been better if not for dollar issue. Insurance stocks have the characteristics of “seat down and look.” But some penny stocks will still surprise the market.

National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN) Mr. Boniface Okezie,: Stock market will go up but basically after the inauguration of various members that had  won various offices in the election. So, the policy direction of the president elect and his party is important to the market. But after swearing in, we are going to see rallying and the capital market is expected to bounce back. The market will bounce back definitely , but not to recover  immediately, we are going to see the positive signs and acceptability of Nigerians will add change, we will see response to it .

The market will improve and that will depend on the pronouncements and the policies of the giovernment because if you assemble a team of  technocrats that will pilot the affairs of the economy, people will want to  know the direction of the economy within one year before they take investment decision.

Basically, the market will bounce back despite decline in oil price globally, but if we know the policy direction of the government that will also help to persuade people to embrace the market and a lot of people who have been out of the market will  now come back  to access the market because they have no other market than this. But I believe after all and said and done, the market will bounce back but not in the immediate but gradually we will see the outcome.

The winners and losers of elections will go back and strategise, people who have left outside the shores, the foreigners who went back to their various countries as a result of the elections will come  back into the market and local investors will now have confidence built. The economy is ex[pected to improve after the elcetions  and the people’s will would have triumphed.