•FTSE Russell delays Nigeria’s Frontier Market status over T+1 concerns
By Peter Egwuatu
The Nigerian stock market ended June on a bearish note, with investors losing a whopping N13.3 trillion in the value of their investments listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the highest monthly loss recorded in the first six months of 2026.
Despite the sharp decline in June, equity investors recorded a gain of N44.8 trillion in the first half of 2026 (H1’26), reflecting improved capital gains.
Market analysts attributed the bearish performance in June to sustained profit-taking in blue-chip and fundamentally sound stocks, which overshadowed bargain hunting and extended the market’s recent corrective trend.
They noted that investors remained cautious after the impressive rally recorded in May, opting to lock in gains across key sectors amid continued portfolio rebalancing ahead of the half-year earnings season.
Analysis of month-on-month trading showed that the NGX market capitalisation, which represents the total value of equities listed on the Exchange, closed the last trading day of June at N147.217 trillion, down from N160.508 trillion in May 2026, indicating massive sell-offs by investors.
Similarly, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI), another major market performance indicator that measures the cumulative price movement of listed equities, declined by 8.4 per cent to close at 229,419.18 points, compared with 250,385.47 points recorded in May 2026.
The renewed wave of profit-taking came despite the country’s improving macroeconomic indicators and expectations that listed companies with strong fundamentals would deliver resilient half-year results. Investors appeared to adopt a more selective approach, rotating funds into defensive stocks while taking profits in equities that had posted significant capital appreciation since the beginning of the year.
However, in H1’26, the NGX market capitalisation rose by N47.841 trillion to close at N147.217 trillion, from N99.376 trillion recorded at the end of trading in December 2025. Similarly, the NGX ASI surged by 47.4 per cent to close at 229,419.18 points, from 155,613.03 points recorded at the end of December 2025.
Meanwhile, FTSE Russell, a global provider of stock market indices and data analytics, yesterday stated that it had placed Nigeria’s planned reclassification to Frontier Market status under further review.
The global index provider disclosed the development in a statement, citing concerns over the country’s transition to a T+1 settlement cycle, which allows trades to settle one business day after execution. According to the statement, the pause in Nigeria’s planned status upgrade would allow FTSE Russell to examine the implications of the transition for foreign investors.
“Further to the FTSE Equity Country Classification March 2026 Interim Announcement, which confirmed the reclassification of Nigeria from Unclassified to Frontier Market status from September 2026, FTSE Russell announces that the reclassification of Nigeria is under further review.
“A requirement to prefund equity trades is deemed a negative for the ‘Settlement Cycle (DvP)’ criterion, which is one of the five core FTSE Quality of Markets criteria required for attaining Frontier Market status within the FTSE Equity Country Classification scheme.
“Consequently, the reclassification of Nigeria is under further review to assess the implications of the transition to a T+1 settlement cycle for international institutional investors.”
FTSE Russell said it would provide an update on Nigeria’s potential reclassification to Frontier Market status by the end of August 2026.
