Nigeria’s equities market furthered its downward movement on Thursday as sell-side pressure continues on the Bourse. The market decreased by N118billion or 0.21 percent at the close of trading.

The market which saw pockets of demand in select names however closed in red as investors reacted to companies’ half-year (H1) scorecards. This is in addition to recent hike in benchmark interest rate which further makes equities less attractive than fixed-income instruments. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Nigeria’s Central Bank recently raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), also known as the benchmark interest rate, to 26.75 percent from 26.25 percent which further makes equities less attractive than fixed-income instruments. The Central Bank of Nigeria further ramped up tightening measures to rein in inflation.