Domestic investors concede about 3.14% of stock trading to foreigners

Domestic investors at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) relinquished about 3.14percent of trading to foreign investors as domestic transactions decreased from 53.55percent in December 2015 to 48.43percent in January 2016.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) transactions increased from 46.45percent to 51.57percent over the same period, according to the NSE recent data on domestic and foreign portfolio participation in equity trading.

Total transactions at the nation’s bourse decreased by 23.93percent from N110.56 billion recorded in December 2015 to N84.1 billion (about $0.43 billion) in January 2016.

In comparison to the same period in 2015, total transactions decreased by 55.67percent from the N189.72 recorded in January 2015.

Monthly foreign outflows outpaced inflows which was consistent with the same period in 2015. However, there was a 23.17percent decrease in foreign outflows from N34.31 billion in December 2015 to N26.36 billion in 2016. Also, foreign inflows decreased by 0.18percent from N17.04 billion in December 2015 to N17.01 billion in January 2016.  The institutional composition of the domestic market accounted for 54percent whilst the retail composition accounted for 46percent in the same period.

This indicates more active participation by institutional investors over their retail counterparts in the period under review, according to the NSE. 

Information on the retail and institutional components of the total domestic transactions in January is based on data obtained from about 98percent of active dealing members of the Exchange. On a monthly basis, the Nigerian Stock Exchange polls trading figures from major custodians and market operators on their foreign portfolio investments (FPI).   

Iheanyi Nwachukwu