Nigeria reclaims Africa’s stock-market crown from Zimbabwe as FTSE return lifts sentiment

…All-Share Index rises to near three-week high of 244,199.4 points as of August 31

Nigeria has reclaimed its position as Africa’s best-performing stock market, overtaking Zimbabwe as renewed investor interest and the country’s impending return to the FTSE Frontier Market universe boost equities.

Data from African Markets, a real-time market intelligence platform, showed that the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) returned 69.5 percent in US dollar terms year-to-date as of August 31, 2026, the highest among the 17 African exchanges tracked.

Africa’s most populous nation had led the continent’s stock-market performance rankings for most of the first seven months of the year, supported by strong banking-sector gains, naira stability and improving macroeconomic sentiment, before Zimbabwe overtook it in the final week of July.

Zimbabwe followed Nigeria with a 67.4 percent return, while Ghana ranked third at 59.8 percent.

Zimbabwe’s strong performance was supported by easing inflation, greater currency stability and renewed investor appetite for local equities.

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Nigeria’s rise to the top of the continental ranking also strengthens its position on the global stage. The country ranked second globally in Bloomberg’s stock-market performance ranking as of Tuesday morning, behind South Korea, which reclaimed the top position from Nigeria on August 14. The Bloomberg ranking tracks 92 stock markets worldwide.

The country’s strong showing was reinforced by a sharp rebound on the final trading day of August.

The benchmark All-Share Index rose by 1.20 percent on Monday to close at 244,199.4 points, its highest level in nearly three weeks, from 241,298.5 points on Friday, according to data from the NGX.

The rally added N1.9 trillion to the market’s capitalisation in a single session, lifting it to N157.7 trillion from N155.8 trillion on Friday.

Both the index and market capitalisation closed at their highest levels since August 11.

Yesterday’s advance extended a three-day recovery that helped the market claw back some of the losses suffered during an 11-session losing streak earlier in August.

The rebound followed FTSE Russell’s country classification review, announced last week, which found no material settlement, operational or funding problems following Nigeria’s transition to a T+1 settlement cycle.

The assessment removes a key obstacle to the country’s return to the FTSE Frontier Market universe and could improve the country’s visibility among international investors.

Nigeria’s reclassification is also expected to support potential portfolio inflows as funds benchmarked against FTSE indexes adjust their allocations following the country’s return to the frontier market index.

Despite the late-month recovery, the market remains below its August peak.

Equities market capitalisation fell from N160.42 trillion on August 10 to N154.39 trillion on August 25, reflecting a sharp sell-off driven by profit-taking and portfolio repositioning.

Seasonal weakness, delayed bank earnings and investor positioning ahead of major corporate events, including the planned listing of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, have also contributed to market volatility.

Attention will now turn to FTSE Russell’s Frontier Index Series annual indicative review files for September, scheduled to begin publication on September 2. The files are expected to reflect Nigeria’s reclassification ahead of its formal implementation.

Nigeria is also attracting the attention of another major global index provider. S&P Dow Jones Indices has placed the country on its Watch List for possible reclassification to Frontier Market status as part of its 2027 Country Classification Annual Review.

The interest from major index providers highlights the growing importance of market accessibility, settlement infrastructure and foreign-investor participation in determining Nigeria’s place in global investment benchmarks.

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For the NGX, the developments could strengthen Nigeria’s position within the global investment universe and deepen the capital market’s contribution to investment and economic growth.

NGX Group said it would continue working with the Federal Government, the Securities and Exchange Commission, market operators, investors and global index providers to strengthen Nigeria’s position in the international financial system and expand the capital market’s contribution to investment and economic growth.