Equity market transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited witnessed a significant drop of 56.79 per cent in April 2025, closing at N482.04bn compared to N1.12tn recorded in March.
This was disclosed in the latest Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment Report released by the NGX, which attributed the sharp decline to the absence of large block trades that had boosted market activity in the previous month.
According to the report, total foreign transactions fell steeply by 90.99 per cent to N63.07bn in April from N699.89bn in March. Foreign inflows into the market stood at N26.64bn, while outflows were recorded at N36.43bn.
Domestic investors, however, showed slight improvement, with total domestic transactions inching up by 0.81 per cent from N415.62bn in March to N418.97bn in April. This segment accounted for 87 per cent of the overall transaction value for the month under review.
A further breakdown showed that institutional investors dominated domestic trades, contributing N237.66bn, while retail investors recorded N181.31bn in transaction value.
The April figures bring the year-to-date market transactions (January to April 2025) to N2.71tn, reflecting a 43.26 per cent increase compared to N1.89tn recorded during the same period in 2024.
The NGX noted that the improvement on a year-to-date basis was largely driven by robust activity in the first quarter of 2025, especially in March, when the market saw heightened foreign participation due to block trades.
Additionally, NGX also provided insight into a historical trend of transactions in the Nigerian equity market. According to the bourse, over the past 18 years, domestic transactions have risen by 33.15 per cent from N3.56 tn in 2007 to N4.74 tn in 2024. On the other hand, foreign transactions increased by 38.31 per cent within the same period, moving from N616bn in 2007 to N852bn in 2024.