Kayode Tokede
Foreign and domestic investors’ transactions on Nigeria’s stock market reached N15.06 trillion in the first nine months of 2026, amid key reforms and improved economic indicators.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited’s (NGX) report on domestic and foreign portfolio participation in equity trading revealed that domestic investors continued to dominate transactions, accounting for 89.74 per cent of the total. In comparison, foreign investors contributed 10.26 per cent.
Foreign investors’ share of transactions declined from 21.56 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025 to 10.26 per cent in 2026. Conversely, domestic investors, comprising retail and institutional investors, increased their share from 78.44 per cent to 89.74 per cent.
The report disclosed that domestic investors’ transactions rose to N13.52 trillion between January and September 2026, representing a 102 per cent increase over the N6.69 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Foreign investors, however, accounted for N1.55 trillion, representing a 16.01 per cent decline from N1.84 trillion recorded between January and September 2025.
The shift suggests that the surge in activity on Nigeria’s stock market this year has been driven largely by local capital, particularly institutional investors.
Capital market analysts attributed the growth in institutional investors’ transactions partly to the National Pension Commission’s (PenCom) decision to raise equity investment limits for pension funds in February 2026.
They said the policy had helped inject fresh liquidity into the stock market, supporting gains in the share prices of some blue-chip companies. On February 9, 2026, PenCom revised the investment limits for ordinary shares in Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Funds I, II, III and VI (Active).
The commission amended Section 9 of its investment regulations, raising equity allocation limits for RSA Fund I from 30 per cent to 35 per cent; RSA Fund II from 25 per cent to 33 per cent; RSA Fund III from 10 per cent to 15 per cent; and RSA Fund VI (Active) from 25 per cent to 33 per cent.
Institutional investors accounted for N8.36 trillion of domestic transactions between January and September 2026, compared with N5.15 trillion from retail investors. In the corresponding period of 2025, institutional and retail transactions stood at N4.09 trillion and N2.60 trillion, respectively.
The report also showed that foreign portfolio outflows rose to N913.61 billion between January and September 2026, up from N810.39 billion in the corresponding period of 2025, a 12.7 per cent increase.
Foreign portfolio inflows, however, fell to N632.35 billion, down about 38.6 per cent from N1.03 trillion in the corresponding period of 2025.
Capital market analysts said FTSE Russell’s 2023 downgrade of Nigeria contributed to foreign investors’ exit from the stock market. They described the upgrade in September 2026 as a first step towards attracting them back.
The report put foreign investor inflows in September 2026 at N925.20 billion, up 249.53 per cent from the N264.70 billion recorded in August.
Investors on the Nigerian stock market recorded strong returns in the first nine months of 2026, with market capitalisation gaining N63.73 trillion despite volatility.
Market capitalisation rose from N99.376 trillion at the beginning of the year to N163.105 trillion on September 30, 2026, representing an increase of N63.73 trillion, or 64.13 per cent.
Similarly, the NGX All-Share Index gained 95,598.64 points, or 61.43 per cent, rising from 155,613.03 points at the beginning of the year to 251,211.67 points at the end of September.
With fewer than five new listings, the NGX has recorded substantial growth in 2026, with market capitalisation reaching the N164 trillion mark amid improving macroeconomic indicators.
The report added: “Over 19 years, domestic transactions increased significantly by 160.83 per cent from N3.5560 trillion in 2007 to N9.2747 trillion in 2025, whilst foreign transactions also increased significantly by 329.87 per cent from N0.6156 trillion to N2.6475 trillion over the same period.
“Total domestic transactions accounted for about 78 per cent of the total transactions carried out in 2025, whilst foreign transactions accounted for about 22 per cent of the total transactions in the same period.
“As at 30 September 2026, year-to-date domestic transactions amounted to approximately N13.5159 trillion, representing 89.74 per cent of total market transactions, whilst foreign transactions amounted to approximately N1.5460 trillion, accounting for 10.26 per cent.”