Business
Investors Earn 10.4 % Equity Returns
Investors on listed equities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) earned approximately 10.4 per cent returns on their investment, according to NSE’s monthly review chart.
The performance chart, copies of which were made available to our correspondent on Monday, showed that the returns were cumulatively made in January and February 2010.
The chart also showed that investors, who cumulatively lost about 34 per cent in 2009, took advantage of the low price of equities to invest more in the capital market.
An analysis of the market performance in the last 60 days revealed that the Food/Beverages and Tobacco sub-sector was investors’ safe haven with the highest cumulative returns of 17.5 per cent.
The Food/Beverages and Tobacco index appreciated to 618.60 points at the end of February when compared with January’s opening index of 526.71 points.
Banking sub-sector followed with cumulative returns of 12.24 per cent while Oil and Gas sub-sector accounted for 7.5 per cent returns on investments.
The NSE’s banking index, which opened at 339.32 points, closed at 380.84 points while Oil and Gas-5 index rose to 309.59 points as against the opening index of 288.06 points in January.
On the other hand, the insurance sub-sector remained in depression as investment in the sector was further eroded by 19.4 per cent in the first two months of the year.
The NSE Insurance -10 index, which opened at 249.01 points, closed at 200.79 points in February.
On the whole, investors in the 30 most capitalised stocks on the NSE earned 11.08 per cent returns on investments in the period under review.
During the period, the NSE- 30 Index appreciated to 919.77 points as against 827.99 points opening Index.