Evaluation of Stock Market Development in an Emerging Economy

The efficient mobilization of capital, through the stock markets, is required to accelerate the nation's growth and development process. Stock market development remains of prominent attraction to academics, policy actors, firms and investors. This study examines the stock market development in Nigeria. The study relies on simple percentage changes to show the performance of the market indicators. The paper discusses the stock market indicators using broad criteria namely: market capitalization, total value of shares traded, market liquidity and all share index. The finding shows that the stock market indicators have experienced continuous and inconsistent swings, thus having important policy implications. The study identified that weak institutions, ineffective market regulation, lack of regulatory cohesion, uncompetitive cost structures, inefficient, unregulated margin financing and cumbersome market processes are amongst factors that causes the inconsistent in growth and swings inherent by these indicators. To resolve these issues and position the capital market for global attractions, the paper suggests that the government should seek policies that include induced infrastructural investments as well as promote a more conducive business environment.