Foreign Investors Pull $52.07 million from Nigeria’s Equities Market in February 2026

LAGOS, Mar 30 – Foreign investors stepped up withdrawals from Nigeria’s equities market in February, with outflows rising to N72.32 billion ($52.07 million), even as inflows picked up during the same period.

Data from the Nigerian Exchange’s Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment Report shows foreign inflows climbed sharply by 39.39 percent to N66.71 billion, compared to N47.86 billion in January. However, outflows also increased by 9.12 percent from N66.28 billion, leaving the market with a net foreign outflow of N5.61 billion for the month.

While this marks an improvement from January’s N18.42 billion net outflow, it still reflects continued caution among offshore investors. Overall foreign transactions rose by 21.81 percent to N139.03 billion, suggesting a modest rebound in participation, though not strong enough to reverse the net exit trend.

Domestic investors remained the backbone of market activity. Total transactions surged by 78.93 percent month-on-month to N1.542 trillion, with local players accounting for 90.99 percent of trades. Institutional investors led the charge at N854.83 billion, followed by retail participation at N548.50 billion.

Foreign participation, however, weakened in relative terms, dropping to 9.01 percent of total transactions from 13.24 percent in January.

On a year-to-date basis, the imbalance persists. Foreign inflows stood at N114.57 billion, while outflows reached N138.60 billion, resulting in a net withdrawal of N24.03 billion. Despite total transactions more than doubling to N2.404 trillion compared to the same period last year, foreign investors continue to take a cautious stance.