Investors in Nigerian equities ended 2025 with a net capital gain of ₦32.13 trillion, cementing the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as one of the world’s top five best-performing stock markets for the year.
The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) closed 2025 with a 51.19 per cent full-year return, rising to 155,613.03 points from 102,926.40 points at the start of the year. This rally translated into the ₦32.13 trillion gain in investor wealth.
Nigeria’s performance significantly outpaced returns in several advanced and emerging markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and China, where average index gains were below 25 per cent. By comparison, the MSCI All Country World Index posted an average return of about 20 per cent in 2025.
Market capitalisation also surged, rising from ₦62.76 trillion at the beginning of the year to ₦99.38 trillion at year-end, an increase of 58.34 per cent or ₦36.61 trillion. The wider increase in market value, beyond the ASI gain, was attributed to new listings during the year.
Temi Popoola, Group Managing Director of NGX Group, said the sustained rally reflected growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s macroeconomic outlook.
“The Nigerian capital market in 2025 demonstrated resilience despite domestic and global economic headwinds,” Popoola said. “Policy consistency, purposeful reforms, and strategic collaboration were critical in strengthening investor confidence and sustaining market growth.”
He added that investments in technology helped expand access, improve transparency, and enhance efficiency across the market, while reforms supported a stable environment for capital formation.
Popoola said the Exchange would continue to deepen partnerships with regulators, issuers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to sustain the momentum and position Nigeria as Africa’s preferred exchange hub.
Chairman of the Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Sehinde Adenagbe, linked the market’s strong performance to ongoing economic reforms.
“Since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, Nigeria’s stock market has experienced strong growth and renewed investor interest,” Adenagbe said, noting that the ASI rose by about 136 per cent between 2023 and 2025.
He highlighted improved forex market transparency, the removal of Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, and the enactment of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 as key drivers of investor confidence.
Kehinde Hassan, Managing Director of GTI Capital, said the stock market’s performance reflects investor optimism about Nigeria’s economic outlook, noting that equities remain a key barometer of global confidence in an economy.
The 2025 rally marked the sixth consecutive year of gains for Nigerian equities, following returns of 37.65 per cent in 2024 and 45.90 per cent in 2023, underscoring the market’s sustained bullish trend.
