Some shareholders have
blamed the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for the bearish trend in the equities market, which led to drop in the market indices by 11.52 per cent last week.
The shareholders told newsmen in Lagos that the exchange’s dependence on foreign investors was the major cause of the bearish trend in the market.
National President, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN),  Mr Bayo Adeleke, said that the bears were having a free reign in the market due to the dominance of foreign investors.
Adeleke said the exchange was disconnected from retail shareholders and depended solely on foreign investors.
“The NSE doesn’t have a blueprint to develop local capacity for long term capital formation. The preference is to hand over Nigerian economy to foreign investors,” Adeleke said.
He said that the market had lost over N2 trillion in capitalisation in the last one month.
Adeleke said that shareholders were concerned about the free fall of equities in the last couple of weeks, noting that some stocks lost more than 30 per cent of their value.
President, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Mr Boniface Okezie, said that local investor’s confidence in the market had been dashed due to government’s policies.
Okezie said that foreign investors were given more attention in the market against the domestic investors.
Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo, founding member, Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association, attributed the development to the exit of foreign investors.
Olatokunbo said that capital market regulators should protect and develop the interest and confidence of local investors in the market and not foreigners’.
He said that foreign investors concentrated solely on capital appreciation, noting that capital market was not a casino but for long-term investment purposes.
Olatokunbo said that investors should be encouraged by the regulators to pay less emphasis on capital appreciation.
He, however, urged local investors to seize the opportunity to increase their stake in the market.
The Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd., Malam Garba Kurfi, said the operators were engaging local investors to increase their participation in the market.
Kurfi said that pension fund administrators should see the development as an opportunity to increase their position in the market.
“The market offers higher potential in terms of dividend yield when compared with interest offered by banks,’’ he said.
Kurfi said that the market had never lost 11 per cent in a week in the last five years.
He attributed the development in the market to developments in the foreign exchange market and unfriendly policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Kurfi said the trend would not persist because most stocks were trading below their fair value.
Our correspondent reports that the NSE All-Share Index last week lost 4333.93 basis points or 11.54 per cent to close at 33,216.31 compared with 37,550.24 achieved in the preceding week.
Also, the market capitalisation depreciated by N1.44 trillion or 11.54 per cent to close at N11.002 trillion against N12.437 trillion posted in the previous week due to huge loss.
Lafarge Africa topped the losers’ table, shedding 30.14 per cent or N33.15 to close at N76.84 per share.
It was also reported that 73 equities posted price depreciation during the review period, while one equity appreciated in price.
Dangote Sugar Refinery came second with a loss of 29 per cent or N2.03 to close at N4.97, while Ashaka Cement lost 28.62 per cent or N8.97 to close at N22.37 per share.
On the other hand, Betaglass was the only company that recorded gain during the review period, appreciating by five per cent or N1.05 to close at N22.05 per share.
Also, a turnover of  3.78 billion shares worth N26.74 billion was traded on by investors last week in 22,771 deals.
This was against 2.09 billion shares valued N20.23 billion exchanged in 21,802 deals in the previous week.
The Financial Services led the week’s activity chart with 3.33 billion shares
Worth N17.10 billion transacted in 13,676 deals.
The Conglomerates Industry followed with a turnover of 181.56 million shares worth N772.64 million achieved in 1,286 deals.
The third place was occupied by  the Services Industry with 90.01 million shares worth N259.19 million in 659 deals.