2018 budget: Financial experts tie stock market performance to its implementation

Some financial experts, on Tuesday, said that sustenance of good performance of the stock market in 2018 would depend on quick implementation of 2018 budget.
They said in Lagos that the market performance in 2018 would depend mainly on budget passage and implementation.
The Head of Banking and Finance Department, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Uche Uwaleke, said that the performance of the stock market in 2018 would centre on budget implementation, especially the capital component.
Uwaleke said that another factor that would impact positively on market performance was easing of monetary policies early next year.
He foresaw a bullish stock market, in 2018, in response to sustained favourable crude oil price in the wake of extension of output cut agreement by Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)/Non OPEC countries till the end of 2018.
Uwaleke said that the surge in foreign reserves to over 40 billion dollars, further improvement in the ease of doing business and further moderation in inflationary pressure would impact positively on market performance in 2018.
“The expected increase in liquidity will enhance lending by deposit money banks, which would be good news for the stock market.
“The likely drop in treasury bills yields and other government securities as the government borrows less from the domestic market and gradually crowds-in the private sector, would rub off positively on fortunes of the stock market in 2018,’’ Uwaleke said.
He said that the likely delisting of 7UP Company from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2018 following its proposed takeover by the majority shareholder, a Lebanese, would negatively affect the stock market capitalisation.
Uwaleke said that the market would, however, benefit from possible listing of the telecommunication giant, MTN, and the passage of NSE demutualisation bill currently before the National Assembly.