African stock markets showed divergent performance on Tuesday, November 25, with major exchanges recording notable declines in trading activity compared to the previous session, even as Ghana bucked the trend with a substantial volume increase.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) experienced a significant slowdown in trading activity, with 556.1 million shares changing hands across 19,474 deals, valued at ₦18.67 billion.
This represented a marked retreat from Monday’s session, with volumes down 20%, turnover declining 35%, and the number of deals falling 19%.
Despite the day’s subdued activity, the NGX maintains a robust market capitalisation of ₦92.4 trillion, reflecting the exchange’s position as one of Africa’s largest equity markets.
Kenya’s Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) saw even steeper declines, with trading volumes plummeting 56% to 9.88 million shares across 4,880 deals. The value of trades fell more dramatically, dropping 69% to KES 180.5 million. The exchange’s current market capitalisation stands at KES 2.87 trillion.
In contrast to its regional counterparts, the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) recorded a remarkable 236% surge in trading volumes to 1.42 million shares. However, this volume increase did not translate to higher values, as turnover fell 41% to GHS 1.32 million, suggesting that smaller-value transactions drove the activity. The GSE’s market capitalisation currently sits at GHS 167.5 billion.
The varied performance across the three West and East African markets highlights the localised nature of trading patterns, with investor sentiment and activity levels responding to different domestic factors in each economy.
