On the of sustained investors’ confidence fuelled by foreign exchange reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the overall market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) increased to N139.82 trillion in seven months of 2025
The N139.82 trillion overall market capitlisation of three trading instruments (debt, stocks and Exchange Traded Fund) as of July 2025 is about N30.55 trillion or 27.96 per cent Year-till-Date (YtD) growth when compared to N109.27 trillion overall market capitalisation as at December 2024.
The stability in the foreign exchange market, companies recovering from foreign exchange losses, market liquidity, capital inflow, dominance of domestic investors, increasing portfolio investment, CBN’s banking sector recapitalisation and insurance sector reforms have played a critical role in overall market capitalisation growth so far in seven months of 2025.
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The debt market on the NGX is made up of corporate Bonds/Debentures, FGN Bonds sub regions and Local Bonds.
Currently, there are 15 listed bonds on NGX issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN); four States bonds and 21 corporate Bonds/Debentures. As of July 2025, a total of 150 stocks are listed on the NGX.
The equities segment dominates the market with N88.436 trillion or 63.25 per cent of the N139.82 trillion total market capitalisation.
Trailing the equities segment is the debt market with N51.353 trillion or 36.73 per cent as of July 2025, while the ETF ranked third with N32.3 billion or 0.02 per cent contribution during the period under review.
Equities has appreciated by N25.66 trillion in the seven months of 2025 to close at N88.436 trillion from N62.774 trillion it closed 2024, while the debt market moved from N46.446 trillion in December 2024 to N50.851 trillion as of May 2025.
The stock market growth of N25.66 trillion in the seven months of 2025 can be attributed to strong earnings by listed companies, massive inflow from retail investors and foreign investors demand for fundamental stocks.
Out of the N88.436 trillion market capitalisation of listed stock as of July 2025, MTN Nigeria Communication Plc contributed the highest, followed by Dangote Cement Plc and Airtel Africa Plc.
Analysis of trading numbers showed that MTN Nigeria Communication stock price closed July 2025 at N472.00 per share to lift its market capitalisation to N9.91 trillion about 11.2 per cent of equities segment capitlisation as of July 2025.
For Dangote Cement, its market capitalisation increased to N8.9 trillion, contributing about 10.08 per cent while Airtel Africa closed the period under review at N8.68 trillion, about 9.8 per cent of the overall equities market capitlisation.
However, stock market experts believe there is much more room for prices appreciation as most of the stocks on MGX are trading below their market value.
Speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, APT Securities and Funds Limited, Kasimu Garba Kurfi, projected that the market capitalisation is expected to surpass the N100 trillion mark by the end of 2025, buoyed by foreign exchange stability, strong corporate fundamentals, and increased primary market activities.
Kurfi identified key drivers of the 2025 market rally, including the elimination of foreign exchange-related losses by companies. He pointed out that in 2024, listed firms posted pre-tax FX losses of N507.2 billion, up from N359 billion in 2023, representing a combined ₦867 billion in losses.
“In 2025, we have seen zero FX losses due to exchange rate stability, and this has significantly boosted investor confidence,” he said.
The APT Securities boss said the signing of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA 25) has triggered a rally in insurance stocks, while the CBN’s bank recapitalisation programme has revived the primary market, attracting over N2 trillion in 2024, with similar volumes anticipated in 2025.
Capital market analysts noted that the corporate earnings reports of H1 2025, coupled with strong dividend declarations for 2024, especially from the banking sector, cement manufacturing companies, encouraged investors seeking returns in a volatile macro environment.
Although domestic investors were a major force behind the rally, foreign investors are closing the gap in their participating trading on NGX.
The latest Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) report released by the NGX indicated that as of June 30, foreign investors contributed 27.08 per cent or N1.12 trillion out of N4.19 trillion total transaction as against domestic investors’48.18 per cent or N3.06 trillion reported June 2025
In the seven months under review, several stocks listed on the NGX have recorded strong month to date appreciation, reflecting heightened foreign investor confidence driven by improved macroeconomic indicators and robust corporate earnings.
Capital market analysts noted that sustaining this momentum in the remaining of 2025 will depend on the continuation of stable and credible economic policies.
The Vice President, Highcap Securities, David Adonri noted that the equities market so far in 2025 has witnessed massive interest in the recovering major stocks such as Airtel Africa, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, and others which propelled the rally.
“Having reacted, the market is expected to cool down until perhaps the third week in June when half year corporate expectations will start impacting the market positively or negatively, depending on the kind of price sensitive information that inundates the market,” he said.
The MD/CEO, Globalview Capital Limited, Aruna Kebira, in a chat with THISDAY said the stock market has shown a resilient and generally positive performance during the seven months of 2025, despite some volatility and economic headwinds.
He listed banking sector recapitalisation, corporate earnings, inflation moderation (early q1, investor confidence and increased transaction volume as the major drives of the stock market in the first five months of 2025.
On expectation for the remaining of 2025, he said the outlook for the Nigerian stock market remains cautiously optimistic, with several factors that include, continued impact of reforms, banking sector momentum; half year earnings season, regulatory reforms and fixed income market stability.
