Foreign investors’ withdrawal pulled down market in 2014 –NSE

Chief Executive Officer of NSE, Oscar Onyema at the 2014 market recap affirmed that bearish sentiments prevailed in the capital market for most of the 2014 as foreign investors steadily withdrew from the Nigerian market, due to currency risk and the recovery of developed economies, and the effects of the US Federal Reserve tapering of its quantitative easing (QE) policy.
He said, several macroe-conomic developments also contributed to the decline in market performance which includes fall in crude oil prices and related pressure on the Naira; the impact of CBN’s monetary policy changes introduced at various points throughout the year; Nigeria’s declining foreign reserves; festering insurgency in the nation; uncertainty around the upcoming 2015 elections; and weak corporate earnings.
Coming into the second half of 2014, Onyema said global crude oil markets were impacted by the slower economic growth of China and weaker demand for refined products from the U.S. and Europe.