The Nigerian Exchange Limited recorded an increase in trading activity in 2024, with total transactions reaching N5.59tn, marking a rise in market participation.
In its domestic and foreign portfolio participation in the equity trading summary of transactions as of December 31, 2024, domestic transactions dominated, accounting for a substantial 85 per cent of the total volume, amounting to N4.73tn.
Domestic and foreign portfolio participation in equity trading summary of transactions means a report detailing the buying and selling of shares on a stock exchange, specifically breaking down the activity between investors based on their location: domestic investors from within the country and foreign investors from outside the country, showing how much each group has participated in the overall equity trading activity.
In contrast, foreign portfolio transactions made up the remaining 15 per cent, totalling N852.03bn. In December 2024, NGX experienced a surge in trading, with total transactions reaching N673.66bn, a 52.29 per cent increase from the previous month’s N442.34bn. This performance was also 95.88 per cent higher than the N343.92bn recorded in December 2023.
Also, domestic investors continued to dominate the market, contributing N606.91 bn, which represents 90.09 per cent of total transactions for the month, while foreign investors contributed N66.75 bn, or 9.91 per cent.
Breaking down domestic activity in December, institutional investors outperformed retail investors, with institutional transactions totalling N406.04bn, a 97.09 per cent increase from N206.02bn in November 2024. Retail investors, on the other hand, saw a modest increase of 2.81 per cent, rising from N195.38bn in November 2024 to N200.87bn in December 2024.
A detailed analysis of domestic and foreign portfolio participation over the course of 2024 shows that institutional investors led the domestic market, accounting for the larger share of transactions in both the retail and institutional categories.
Over the past eighteen years, domestic transactions have grown by 33.15 per cent from N3.56tn in 2007 to N4.73tn in 2024. Foreign transactions, while growing by 38.31 per cent from N616 bn to N852bn, remain a smaller fraction of the total market activity.
The PUNCH reported that domestic transactions on the Nigerian Exchange reached N3.73 tn year-to-date in October, accounting for 83.35 per cent of total market activity. Also, equity trading in Nigeria saw growth over the last three years, with total transactions reaching N10.82 tn as of December 31, 2024. This was fuelled by local investor participation, with domestic investors playing a role.
