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Kayode Tokede
As the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) sustained its positive momentum since 2025, the market capitalisation listed securities (Stocks, Bonds, Exchange Traded Fund) have added N60.58 trillion or 52.6 per cent in its Year-on-Year growth to a significant N175.8 trillion as of March 2026.
The overall market capitalisation of listed securities was at N115.22 trillion March 2025, according to an investigation by THISDAY intelligence.

The stability in the foreign exchange market, companies recovering from foreign exchange losses, market liquidity, capital inflow, dominance of domestic investors, increasing portfolio investment, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ’s banking sector recapitalisation and insurance sector reforms have played a critical role in overall market capitalisation growth since 2025.
The stock market has increased from N66.266 trillion in March 2025 to N128.77 trillion as of March 2026, about N62.507 trillion or 94.33 per cent growth YoY.
The stock market in March 2026 had crossed the N130 trillion mark on investors demand for listed fundamental stocks quoted on the NGX.
The latest milestone highlights the sustained momentum in Nigeria’s stock market, which continues to attract growing interest from both domestic and institutional investors.
The stock market section continues to dominate transactions on NGX amid foreign investors taking advantage of the foreign exchange reforms by the CBN, the recent upward revision of allocation to ordinary shares by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), investors’ confidence and impressive corporate earnings by listed companies.
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Group, Temi Popoola described the milestone as a sign of growing confidence in Nigeria’s capital market.
He added that, “Nigeria’s ongoing reforms are strengthening domestic capital formation, and the market is responding positively. Increased participation by local investors, improving corporate fundamentals, and continued market modernisation are reinforcing the role of the capital market as a catalyst for long-term wealth creation and sustainable economic growth.”
The debt market came second, contributing about N46.87 trillion from N48.931 trillion March 2025, while the ETF ranked third with N162.82 billion as of March 2026 from N24.829 billion March 2025.
The debt market on the NGX is made up of corporate Bonds/Debentures, FGN Bonds and State and Local Bonds.
Currently, there are 51 listed bonds on NGX issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Federal Government of Nigeria; four States bonds and 16 corporate Bonds/Debentures.
So far this year, the CBN has continued its monetary policy tightening to stabilise the naira and inflation.
Corporate earnings has also played a pivotal role with major fundamental companies declaring impressive earnings with MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Nigerian Breweries Pllc, among others migrating to profit generation.
In the period under review, several stocks listed on the NGX have recorded strong month to date appreciation, reflecting heightened foreign investor confidence driven by improved macro economic indicators and robust corporate earnings.
For the capital market to sustain the current momentum, capital market analysts tasked the government to continue stable and credible economic policies.
The Vice President, Highcap Securities, David Adonri noted that the capital market so far in in the last one year 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.
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 despite some volatility and economic headwinds.
He listed banking sector recapitalisation, corporate earnings, inflation moderation and investor confidence and increased transaction volume as the major drives of the stock market.
On expectation for the remaining of 2026, 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: