The NGX 30 Index, which tracks the 30 most liquid and capitalized stocks on the Nigerian Exchange, has delivered a return of over 41% so far in 2025, outpacing the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) by a wide margin.
In comparison, the DJI, the U.S. index that tracks 30 major American companies like Apple and Microsoft, has gained about 9% this year, highlighting the strong momentum in the Nigerian market.
The Dow had a rough start to the year, falling over 1% in the first quarter as news of Trump’s proposed tariffs dampened investor sentiment and dragged down major tech stocks such as Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Amazon.
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Despite a rough start, the NGX 30 still gained 2.9% in the first quarter, supported by PRESCO’s 65% surge and solid performance from other heavyweight stocks.
In the second quarter, the Dow gained 5% while the NGX 30 rose over 12%. The gap widened in the third quarter as the Dow added another 5%, but the NGX 30 jumped 17.82%.
Overall, the NGX 30’s strong performance mirrors the broader All-Share Index, which has returned over 43% so far in 2025. That figure comfortably beats the S&P 500’s 13% and London’s FTSE 100 at 15%.
Compared with other 30-stock indices worldwide, the NGX 30 has stood out in 2025, gaining 41% against Germany’s DAX 30 at 22%, while Indonesia’s IDX30 is down about 4.2%.
Market trend
The NGX 30 opened 2025 at 3,811.9 index points, rising steadily to 4,003.8 in February before easing by 2% in March to close the first quarter with a modest 2.9% gain.
Momentum gradually returned in the second quarter. After a mild start in April, buying interest picked up through May and June, setting the stage for a stronger rally in the months ahead.
July marked a turning point as the index surged more than 16%, likely driven by strong earnings and renewed investor confidence. Although August saw a slight 0.38% dip, Q3 still ended solidly in positive territory with a gain of over 17%.
So far in October, the index has already advanced over 3.5%, supported by strong performances from several key stocks, keeping the NGX 30 on course for another impressive quarter.
Stocks behind rally
Individual stock performances have been a major driver of the NGX 30’s success so far in 2025, with several companies posting triple-digit gains.
- International Breweries (164.9%), Nigerian Breweries (139%), Okomu Oil (129.7%), Nestle (118%), Wema Bank (110.8%), and Stanbic IBTC (102.9%) have all gained over 100%, while Presco leads with an outstanding 213% return.
Strong advances also came from companies returning over 50%, including Dangote Sugar, Lafarge, BUA Cement, BUA Foods, GTCO, and Zenith Bank.
Stocks with gains between 20% and 50% include Dangote Cement, ETI, UBA, Transcorp Hotel, while those under 20% are AccessCorp, Seplat, Fidelity Bank, Aradel, FCMB, FirstHold, and Transcorp.
