Foreign investment in stock market rises 39.4% to N66.7bn in February

2026-03-26 - 06:02

By Peter Egwuatu Foreign portfolio investment through the stock market increased by 39.4% in February 2026 to N66.71 billion from N47.86 billion in the corresponding period 2025. The breakdown of the investment flows contained in the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, report released yesterday, shows that the foreign investment outflow rose by 9.1% to N72.32 billion in February from N66.28 billion in January. On Year to Date, YtD ended February; the foreign investment inflow grew by 162.1% to N114.57 billion from N43.71 billion YtD February 2025. The report further show that in February 2026, total transactions at the nation’s bourse increased significantly by 78.93% to N1.54 trillion (about $1,131.27 million) in February 2026 from N862 billion (about $621.67 million) in January 2026. Furthermore, the performance YtD February revealed that total transactions increased by 115.4 % to N2.404 trillion from N1.116 trillion YtD February 2025. The total value of transactions executed by domestic investors outperformed transactions executed by foreign investors by approximately 82%. The report further revealed that institutional investors outperformed retail investors by 22%. A comparison of domestic transactions in the current and prior month (January 2026) revealed that retail transactions increased by 52.42% from N359.86 billion in January 2026 to N548.50 billion in February 2026. However, the institutional composition of the domestic market increased significantly by 120.33% from N387.97 billion in January 2026 to N854.83 billion in February 2026. Commenting on the report, Tajudeen Olayinka, Investment Banker/ Chartered Stockbroker, said: “I think it tells the story behind the growing stability in the foreign exchange market. A situation of continued accretion to foreign reserves and declining inflation and interest rate. It gives credence to the forward thinking and inevitable Adjustment Program embarked upon by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023, which though, came with pain, but a necessary pill that must be swallowed to address some of the nagging issues around macroeconomic imbalances. So, to this extent, the rising foreign portfolio inflows means well for the Nigerian economy and markets in the immediate to near term, but other outstanding structural issues must also be addressed by the government as quickly as possible, to deal with a possible reversal of capital flow that could arise from external shocks.”