Over the past three years, trading in stocks (also known as equity trading) in Nigeria has been on the rise. By the end of December 2024, the total value of all stock transactions had reached a staggering N10.82 trillion. This growth is largely due to participation from local investors, who have played a significant role in these transactions.
In 2024, local or domestic investors contributed a massive 84.02% of all trading activities, which totaled around N4.91 trillion. In contrast, foreign investors contributed a much smaller share of 15.98%, amounting to N785.28 billion. This shows that the majority of the trading activity in Nigeria’s stock market is driven by local investors.
January 2024 was the busiest month for equity trading, with transactions reaching N651.52 billion. Out of this amount, local investors were responsible for an impressive N598.41 billion, making up 91.85% of all trades that month. By November 2024, local investors had contributed N401.40 billion in total, with individual retail investors contributing N195.38 billion and institutional investors (such as large organizations) accounting for N206.02 billion.
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Looking back at 2023, the total trading activity in stocks was N3.58 trillion. During that year, foreign investors provided N410.62 billion, which was only 11.48% of all activities, while local investors were again the dominant force with N3.17 trillion, representing 88.52% of the total. The busiest month in 2023 was July, with transactions soaring to N702.98 billion, where local investors contributed N662.44 billion, or 94.23% of trades. The lowest participation from foreign investors occurred in April 2023, when they contributed only N8.47 billion, which was just 4.43% of the total that month.
In 2022, the equity trading market recorded a total of N2.32 trillion. Foreign investors contributed N379.23 billion, making up 16.32% of the total, while local investors accounted for N1.95 trillion, or 83.68%. The highest trading activity that year occurred in May, with N607.45 billion traded, of which local investors contributed N562.15 billion, representing 92.54% of the total. The lowest monthly trading total was in September 2022, when the market saw only N81.90 billion, with foreign investors contributing N19.67 billion, or 24.02%, and local investors making up the rest at N62.23 billion, or 75.98%.
Recent reports indicate that by October 2024, domestic transactions on the Nigerian Exchange had already reached N3.73 trillion year-to-date, which accounted for 83.35% of the total market activity. This trend highlights the continued dominance of local investors in Nigeria’s stock market.
