Trading activity on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) slumped sharply in August 2025, as a slowdown in domestic deals dragged total market turnover nearly 50 per cent lower month-on-month, despite a strong year-on-year rebound.
The NGX’s latest domestic and foreign portfolio investment report showed that total transactions fell from ₦1.8 trillion in July to ₦908.38 billion in August, one of the steepest single-month drops in recent years.
Yet, compared with August 2024, market activity surged 139.4 per cent, reflecting longer-term growth in investor engagement despite short-term volatility.
Local Investors Still Dominate
Domestic investors remained the market’s anchor, accounting for 81.1 per cent of August trades versus 18.9 per cent by foreign players — a gap of about 62 percentage points.
However, local transactions plunged 55.9 per cent to ₦736.6 billion, largely due to the absence of block trades that had boosted July’s figures. Block trades — large, privately negotiated deals — were a key driver of the previous month’s unusually high turnover.
Foreign investors bucked the trend, with transactions rising 17.7 per cent to ₦171.8 billion (about $112.2 million), up from ₦145.95 billion in July. While still modest relative to overall volume, the increase signalled a mild revival in offshore appetite for Nigerian equities.
Institutional Deals Slide
Institutional players continued to outpace retail investors, accounting for 53.3 per cent of domestic trades, compared with 46.7 per cent for retail. Both segments, however, recorded weaker performance.
Retail turnover dropped 33.5 per cent, from ₦516.5 billion in July to ₦343.67 billion in August, while institutional activity plunged 65.9 per cent to ₦392.9 billion, underscoring the drag from reduced block transactions.
Long-Term Growth Intact
Historical data highlight the exchange’s resilience despite short-term swings. Between 2007 and 2024, domestic transactions rose 33.2 per cent, from ₦3.6 trillion to ₦4.7 trillion, while foreign trades climbed 38.3 per cent, from ₦616 billion to ₦852 billion.
In 2024, domestic investors commanded 85 per cent of market activity, a dominance that has strengthened in 2025. As of end-August, total domestic trades stood at ₦5.46 trillion, compared with ₦1.45 trillion for foreign investors.
The figures reaffirm the Nigerian stock market’s heavy reliance on local investors, even as foreign interest begins to show signs of a gradual recovery.
