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By Chinwendu Obienyi and Chukwuma Umeorah
While major African exchanges saw investors pull back amid rising geopolitical risks, Nigeria’s equity market extended its rally in dollar terms, highlighting the country as a relative safe haven, the latest weekly newsletter on African markets showed on Monday.
The benchmark NGX All Share Index (ASI) rose 2.15 per cent last week, pushing its year-to-date gain to 26.58 per cent in local currency. For international investors, the advance has been even stronger as the market went up more than 31 per cent in U.S. dollar terms so far this year, supported by currency stabilization and renewed appetite for Nigerian assets.
Furthermore, at the close of business yesterday, its year-to-date gain grew to 26.72 per cent.
These gains came as global risk sentiment deteriorated following military escalation involving Iran over the previous weekend. The rise in geopolitical uncertainty drove investors away from riskier assets, hitting several African markets that are more closely linked to international portfolio flows.
Specifically, across East Africa, markets also weakened. Kenya’s NSE All Share Index fell 3.55 per cent while Tanzania’s DSE All Share Index slipped 4.31 per cent. Egypt’s blue-chip EGX 30 declined 3.45 per cent as investors reacted to the global shift toward safer assets.
Furthermore, Namibia’s NSX Overall Index fell even further, sliding 10.41 per cent and marking the steepest weekly decline among major African exchanges.
Morocco’s MASI Index dropped 5.75 per cent, extending a downward trend that has pushed the market into negative territory for the year, with a decline of roughly 9.28 per cent in local currency terms.
Against that backdrop, Nigeria’s performance highlights the growing divergence among African equity markets this year. Investors have been returning to the country’s bourse following policy adjustments, currency reforms and improved liquidity conditions that have helped restore confidence in local financial assets.
The domestic bourse has also benefited from strong gains in key banking and consumer stocks, sectors that dominate trading on the exchange and are often seen as proxies for domestic economic recovery.
Corporate developments also kept Nigeria’s capital market in focus. The Nigerian Exchange Group placed five companies on a delisting watchlist during the week, while three others entered the final stage of the delisting process. The move underscores the exchange’s push to tighten post-listing compliance and improve governance standards among publicly traded firms.
Despite the recent volatility triggered by geopolitical tensions, several African markets, including Nigeria, continue to post strong year-to-date performances. Alongside Ghana, markets such as Tanzania and Zimbabwe remain among the continent’s top performers in 2026. For now, Nigeria’s rally in dollar terms is drawing particular attention from global investors seeking exposure to frontier markets that still offer growth potential despite an increasingly uncertain global environment.
