Total transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) for October 2025 stood at N1.1 trillion, representing 105.4 per cent increase over the N502 billion recorded in the corresponding month of October 2024.

Despite the strong year-on-year performance, the October 2025 figure represented a sharp 36.3 per cent decline from the N1.6 trillion posted in September 2025, a drop largely attributed to the absence of the large block trades that had inflated domestic transaction volumes in the previous month.

Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), latest domestic and foreign portfolio investment report released yesterday, showed that domestic investors dominated market activity in October 2025, outperforming foreign investors by about 64 per cent.

However, the overall slowdown from September reflected a broad contraction across both investor segments.

Domestic transactions fell by 31.4 per cent from N1.2 trillion in September to N845.96 billion in October. Foreign transactions also weakened, sliding steeply by 51.9 per cent from N387.6 billion to N186.6 billion during the same period. The composition of domestic activity revealed mixed investor behaviour.

For instance, retail participation rose by 19 per cent, increasing from N278.6 billion in September to N331.7 billion in October, while institutional transactions declined significantly by 46 per cent from N955.3 billion to N514.3 billion. Institutional investors nonetheless maintained dominance, outperforming retail investors by 22 per cent.

A historical review of market performance showed that domestic participation has strengthened over the past 18 years, rising by 33.2 per cent from N3.6 trillion in 2007 to N4.7 trillion in 2024.

Foreign transactions similarly expanded by 38.31 per cent from N616 billion to N852 billion over the same period. Domestic investors accounted for about 85 per cent of total market activity in 2024, with foreign investors contributing the remaining 15 per cent.

For 2025 so far, transaction data indicate that domestic activity has reached approximately N7.5 trillion, while foreign participation stands at roughly N2 trillion, an indication of the continuing dominance of local investors in shaping market activities.