(Reuters)
Nigerian stocks extended their gains on Tuesday, rising almost 1 percent in early trade to a 3-week high as investors reacted positively to a possible win for the opposition party in Saturday's closely fought presidential election.
Opposition contender Muhammadu Buhari held a sizeable lead as counting in the country's election resumed on Tuesday, raising the prospect of a ballot box victory for a man who first came to power three decades ago via a military coup.
Stocks gained for the eighth consecutive session, with the banking index leading the charge.
The index of Nigeria's top 10 lenders rose 1.8 percent, partly lifted by positive earnings from some banks.
"With projections that Buhari may eventually be announced president-elect, it sends a positive signal to the markets that there would be a change to the way things have been done in the past," Ayodeji Ebo, head of research at Afrinvest said, referring to Nigeria's opposition contender Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari had more than 13 million votes according to a provisional Reuters tally collated from 31 of Nigeria's 36 states, compared to 10.5 million for President Goodluck Jonathan, whose five years at the helm of the continent's top oil producer have been plagued by corruption scandals and a bloody insurgency by Islamist Boko Haram militants.
"With a few exceptions, President Jonathan's stewardship of the economy has not been taken refreshingly, so this would be seen as an opportunity for a fresh start for the country," Jefferies analyst Richard Segal said.
The naira held steady at 218 against the dollar on the parallel market operated by bureau de change agents, while on the interbank market it opened at 199 naira to the dollar.
