LAGOS Dec 19 (Reuters) – Nigerian equities climbed to
a three week high on Monday, creeping up over a psychological
20,000 point level largely owing to a rise in banking shares,
traders said, as the bourse also listed its first exchange
traded fund (ETF).
The bourse started trading Nigeria’s first gold-backed
security, NewGold, on Monday to broaden its range of products
beyond traditional equities and bonds.
The all-share index rose 0.1 percent to 20,045
points, as selling pressure on shares eased and investors begin
to take position for 2012, traders said, with Fidelity Bank
and Skye Bank up almost five percent.
“The market is going up because stocks are oversold at the
moment,” one trader told Reuters, adding that foreign investors
were going long on equities.
He said foreigners accounted for around 80 percent of total
trades on the bourse.
The NewGold ETF traded 2,425 units out of the 400,000 units
listed on Monday, and shed 2.0 naira to close at 2,542 naira,
following a fall in international gold prices.
Traders said NewGold will track gold prices in the
international market and that it was too early to determine how
well it would perform in the medium to long term.
The bourse said it will waive trading fees on the unit until
March 1, 2012.
NewGold, originated by South Africa’s Absa Bank Ltd
has a primary listing in South Africa and before its Nigeria
debut had one other listing on Botswana’s bourse.
A source at the stock exchange told Reuters on Friday that
more exchange traded funds were expected early next year, but
that appetite for the ETFs will determine how many go ahead.
(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Additional reporting by Mayowa
Oludare)
