[01] Opara Confidence C., Department of Banking and Finance, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria. [02] Emenike Kalu O., Department of Banking and Finance, Rhema University, Aba Abia State, Nigeria. [03] Ani Wilson U., Department of Banking and Finance, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria.

This objective of this paper is to describe the behaviour of financial market indicators in Nigeria, which include stock market, interest rates, exchange rate, and inflation rates using Nigerian monthly time series data for the period of January 2000 to December 2013.The descriptive analysis of the stock returns shows a positive stock return for the NSE during the sample period. It also shows that the stock returns are negatively skewed, with peaked distribution. The descriptive analysis of the monetary policy rate shows that the average MPR is 12.6% during the study period. It further shows that the MPR and its yield are not normally distributed. The analysis of the Naira/US$ exchange rate indicate that mean rate for the sample period is N133.6. It also shows negative skewness and flat kurtosis coefficients. The analysis of the consumer price index (CPI) shows that the average monthly change in CPI is 0.9%, with a standard deviation of 1.76% for the sample period. It also shows positive skewness and peaked kurtosis coefficients. Overall, this findings of the this study suggest that the financial indicators, which include stock returns, monetary policy rates, exchange rates, and inflation rates in Nigeria, are normally distributed.

Financial Market, Indicators, Descriptive Analysis, Nigeria

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