Nigeria’s stock market is racing to an impressive close this year as evidenced in the renewed buy activities on the Bourse ahead of Christmas and New Year breaks.
This positive comes as Nigeria records N10.54trillion equities transactions in eleven months to November – the highest in 18 years.
Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) trading data show equities transactions reached N10.541trillion in eleven months to November, the highest seen since year 2007 which more than doubles the N4.913trillion in same period of 2024.
“The sustained strength of market activity reflects growing investor confidence in the Nigerian capital market, anchored on ongoing market reforms, improved liquidity, and increased participation by both domestic and foreign investors,” said Temi Popoola, Group Managing Director/CEO, Nigerian Exchange Group.
“Through our Group infrastructure, we remain focused on deepening market efficiency, broadening product offerings, and building a transparent, resilient market that supports sustainable capital formation,” Popoola added.
Market analysts see the market renewing its race to a N100trillion capitalisation as the All-Share Index (ASI) crosses 150,000 points following sustained positive momentum for the seventh consecutive session.
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The market rallied further by 1.13 percent on Friday December 19. The NGX-ASI rose to 152,057.38 points while market capitalisation rose to N96.936trillion.
“With the ASI successfully crossing the 150,000-point milestone, the Santa Rally appears firmly entrenched. We expect sustained buy-side interest, particularly in Tier-1 banks and select consumer names, as portfolio managers aggressively position for year-end valuations. However, some profit-taking may test support levels at this new high,” Vetiva Research analysts said in their December 18 note.
The stock market’s year-to-date (YtD) return stood at circa +47.73 percent as at Friday December 19. This was driven majorly by price increases in consumer goods, industrial, insurance, and banking stocks.
Jude Chiemeka, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) said the rally was supported by strong volumes, improved market depth, and sustained investor interest, reinforcing the Exchange’s role as a reliable platform for price discovery and liquidity.
“We expect strategic positioning for full year earnings season to drive the equity market in the month of December 2025 leading to an appreciation in equity market. Overall, economic fundamentals and financial market mood suggest that the equity market should appreciate in December 2025,” United Capital research analysts said in their recently released equity market outlook for December.
According to United Capital research analysts, “there are strong opportunities in building materials, banking, insurance, fast moving, ICT, consumer and food & beverages as leading stocks in these sectors are trading at low multiples. The relatively low valuation provides a great opportunity for portfolio rebalancing to buy into the current deep. The T+2 settlement period announced by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also expected to renew investor sentiment in the equity space”.
Nigeria has shown readiness to meet investor expectations for speed and reliability with the commencement of T+2 settlement cycle on Friday, November 28.
NGX data on domestic and foreign portfolio participation in equity trading as at November 30 show that foreign portfolio investors (FPI) accounted for N2.189trillion or 20.77 percent, while domestic investors traded stocks worth N8.352trillion or 79.23 percent in the eleven months period under review.
The shorter settlement window is expected to bolster market liquidity, reduce counterparty and operational risk, and strengthen Nigeria’s appeal to foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) at a time when policymakers are seeking deeper capital market support for economic expansion.
The components of foreign transactions show that foreign inflow into Nigeria’s stocks in eleven months was N1.180trillion while foreign outflow was N1.008trillion. Looking at the domestic composition of the transactions shows that retail investors accounted for N3.22trillion while institutional investors accounted for N5.131trillion.
