Foreign investor participation in Nigerian stocks plunges to paltry 4.89% in August

Foreign investors accounted for just 4.89% of equity transactions on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in August 2026, the lowest monthly participation share recorded this year, as foreign trading declined to N62.03 billion.

This is according to the latest NGX Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment Report for August 2026, which showed that total equity transactions fell 46.38% to N1.27 trillion from N2.37 trillion in July.

Despite the monthly decline, August turnover was 39.75% above the N908.4 billion recorded in August 2025, while domestic investors continued to account for the overwhelming majority of market activity.

Foreign participation falls to 4.89%:

Foreign equity transactions declined 53.23% to N62.03 billion in August from N132.62 billion in July, outpacing the 45.98% decline in domestic trading. Domestic investors recorded approximately N1.21 trillion in transactions, nearly 19 times the value attributed to foreign investors.

• The report also showed that foreign investors remained net sellers for the eighth consecutive month, although August’s net sell position was smaller than July’s.
• Foreign purchases stood at N26.47 billion against sales of N35.56 billion, producing a net sell position of N9.09 billion.
• July’s net sell position was N49.44 billion, but the reduction in August reflected lower buying and selling activity rather than stronger foreign purchases.
• Cumulative foreign net selling reached N275.16 billion between January and August, approximately 6.35 times the N43.36 billion recorded during the corresponding period of 2025.
• Foreign purchases during the eight months declined 23.41% to N539.83 billion, while sales increased 8.92% to N814.99 billion.

March and April accounted for approximately 51% of cumulative foreign net selling during the eight-month period, reinforcing the sustained imbalance between foreign purchases and sales.

Foreign Trading retreats through 2026:

Foreign participation has weakened considerably since reaching its 2026 peak in March. The share of equity transactions attributable to foreign investors declined from 16.56% in March to 4.89% in August.

Nairametrics previously reported that foreign trading surged 107.74% month-on-month to N288.82 billion in March before participation began to moderate.

• Foreign participation declined from 13.74% in April to 9.45% in May, recovered to 10.90% in June, and fell to 5.60% in July before reaching 4.89% in August.
• In May, foreign transaction value fell to N183.61 billion, with earlier market commentary citing settlement uncertainty, pre-election risk aversion and global portfolio rebalancing.
• Foreign investors accounted for 10.23% of the N13.25 trillion traded between January and August 2026, compared with 21.01% during the corresponding period of 2025.
• Foreign trading value for the eight months stood at N1.35 trillion, down 6.76% from N1.45 trillion a year earlier and below the N2.65 trillion recorded for the whole of 2025.

The figures show that foreign investors’ share of NGX activity has declined even as total equity turnover has expanded significantly compared with the previous year.

Domestic Investors dominate NGX turnover:

Domestic investors accounted for approximately 89.77% of equity turnover during the first eight months of 2026, compared with 78.99% during the corresponding period of 2025. Their trading value increased 117.64% to N11.89 trillion from N5.46 trillion.

However, the August slowdown was driven primarily by domestic institutional investors, whose transactions fell substantially from July’s level.

• Domestic institutional trading declined 60.39% to N654.61 billion from N1.65 trillion, accounting for approximately 90.9% of the N1.10 trillion reduction in total market turnover.
• Retail trading declined by a smaller 5.08% to N552.88 billion from N582.44 billion, raising retail investors’ share of domestic transactions to 45.79%.
• Domestic investors recorded purchases of N615.83 billion against sales of N591.66 billion in August, producing a reported net buy position of N24.17 billion.
• Total NGX equity transactions reached N13.25 trillion between January and August, up 91.51% from N6.92 trillion a year earlier and above the approximately N11.92 trillion recorded throughout 2025.

The NGX figures describe equity transaction values rather than actual foreign currency movements, meaning the N275.16 billion cumulative foreign net sell position should not be interpreted as an equivalent amount of foreign exchange leaving Nigeria.

With domestic investors now responsible for nearly 90% of turnover, the market’s expansion in 2026 has been driven predominantly by local trading activity despite declining foreign participation.