For the second consecutive month in November 2025, equities trades on the Nigerian Exchange Limited remained below N200 billion, indicating a lack of interest from foreign investors.
Domestic investors controlled the market, pushing total trading to N971 billion and maintaining the bourse’s vibrancy even if foreign participation dropped 13% to N162 billion. According to The PUNCH, institutional investors spearheaded the surge, surpassing retail activity and contributing to year-to-date transactions reaching a healthy N10.54 trillion, highlighting the increasing power of local capital in Nigeria’s stock market.
As total foreign equity transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited stayed below N200 billion for the second consecutive month in November 2025, foreign investors continued to exercise caution in Nigeria’s equity market, confirming indications of muted offshore participation amid ongoing macroeconomic and currency-related concerns.
The NGX Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment report shows that foreign equities trading fell by 13.17% month over month to N162.04 billion in November 2025 from N186.62 billion in October 2025.
A protracted reduction in foreign trading activity on the Exchange is shown by the two consecutive months’ consistent sub-N200 billion performance.
Foreign equity transactions decreased in dollar terms from roughly $131.27 million in October to roughly $112.00 million in November. This decline was caused by both lower trading volumes and the effects of fluctuations in exchange rates at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market.
Every month, the overall level of market activity decreases.
During the study period, the NGX’s total market transactions decreased as well. In November 2025, aggregate equity trades dropped from N1.03 trillion in October 2025 to N971.18 billion, a 5.95 percent decrease.
Even though market activity decreased month over month, it improved significantly year over year.
The total transactions in November 2025 constituted a 119.56 percent rise over the N442.34 billion reported in November 2024, indicating a wider rebound in trading volumes over the previous 12 months.
Foreign investors’ retreat stood in stark contrast to domestic investors’ continued dominance, which accounted for the majority of Exchange transactions.
Foreign investors made up only 16.68 percent of all equity trades in November 2025, compared to 83.32 percent made by domestic investors.
In November, domestic transactions totaled N809.14 billion, a slight decrease of 4.35 percent from N845.96 billion in October 2025. Domestic participation continued to be the main source of liquidity and market depth on the NGX, albeit the minor decline.
Disparate patterns between institutional and individual investors were found when domestic involvement was broken down. Compared to N331.71 billion in October, retail investor transactions fell 16.21% to N277.93 billion in November, indicating a fall in individual investor activity due to market uncertainty.
On the other hand, transactions grew to N531.21 billion in November from N514.25 billion in the previous month due to a 3.30 percent increase in participation from institutional investors. As a result, institutional investors beat individual investors by 32%, highlighting their increasing contribution to maintaining market momentum despite declining foreign inflows.
As of November 2025, the total equity transactions on the NGX for the year were N10.54 trillion, more than twice as much as the N4.91 trillion registered during the same period in 2024.
So far in 2025, domestic investors have contributed N8.35 trillion, or 79.23 percent, of all transactions, while overseas investors have contributed N2.19 trillion, or 20.77 percent. Despite the recent monthly downturn, cumulative foreign inflows have improved when compared to 2024, when foreign participation was 15.98%.
The growing significance of local capital in Nigeria’s equities market is further supported by historical evidence spanning 18 years. Over the same period, foreign transactions expanded by 38.31% from N616 billion to N852 billion, while domestic transactions surged by 33.15% from N3.56 trillion in 2007 to N4.73 trillion in 2024.
About 85% of all equity transactions in 2024 were made by domestic investors, with only 15% coming from foreign investors. This trend has mainly continued throughout 2025.
Global risk aversion, offshore funds’ portfolio rebalancing, and persistent worries about currency stability and capital repatriation are all blamed by market observers for the persistent weakness in foreign equities trades.
Nonetheless, the market is nonetheless stabilized by the substantial presence of domestic institutional investors.
As the year draws to a close, focus will be on whether domestic capital will continue to support NGX activities in the near future or whether better macroeconomic conditions and policy clarity will rekindle interest from overseas investors.
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