Nigerian stocks rallied
for eighth straight day on Tuesday according to Bloomberg data as it emerged
that opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari had won the presidential election
against the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan.
Luck seems to have run out for Jonathan. He who ascended to
power in 2010 as acting President after the then Nigerian President Yar’Adua
went for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia and later died.
Jonathan beat Buhari in a 2011 election that saw over 800 people
killed in post election violence.
At
the Nigerian Stock Exchange, shares jumped the most in 12 weeks according toBloomberg, while
dollar also bonds rallied as former military ruler Buhari claimed victory in
the presidential race and Jonathan called him personally to concede defeat.
“(Buhari’s win) will bring forth positive sentiment. A lot of people
believe he is going to fight corruption, eliminate wastages and strengthen the
economy. These are factors that boost investor confidence and very important
for building the market,” Kunle Ezun, an analyst at Ecobank Transnational in
Lagos, told Bloomberg on Monday before the election results were announced.
Analyst say the Nigerian election, which was postponed for six
weeks from its initial date of Feb. 14 to March 28, was a vital test on
the stability of the Africa’s largest oil producing country.
The all-share index rose 2.1 percent, climbing for the eighth
straight day, to 31,753.15 by close of trading on Tuesday, while the nation’s
Eurobond yields fell for the ninth consecutive day to 6.31 percent – a
three month low.
Nigerian securities had fallen in the run up to the election and
were considered one of the cheapest in Africa. The recent rally is now one of
the best in the world over the last five days.
“The
fact that the voting is behind us now in itself is positive,” Yvonne Mhango, a
Johannesburg-based economist at Renaissance Capital, told Bloomberg.
“It means sooner rather than later we’re going to see a
resumption of business activity.”
