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The total equity trading transactions at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) fell by 23.93 percent month-on-month in January, suggesting that investors continue to remain on the sidelines amidst capital controls and foreign exchange restrictions imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

According to the NSE's Domestic & Foreign Portfolio Participation in Equity Trading – January 2016 – report release this week, the NSE’s transaction volume fell to N84.1 billion in January from N110.56 billion recorded in December 2015. On a year-on-year basis, total transactions declined by 55.67 percent in January 2016 from N189.72 billion recorded in January 2015.

The volume of equity trading by foreign investors in January was higher than that of domestic investors. Domestic investors accounted for 48.43 percent of transactions in January, down from 53.55 percent in December 2015, while foreign investors’ quotient of transactions rose to 51.57 percent in January from 46.45 percent in December 2015.

In January, foreign portfolio outflows, which stood at N26.36 billion, exceeded inflows valued at N17.01 billion. On a month-on-month basis, however, the rate of foreign portfolio outflows decreased by 23.17 percent from N34.31 billion in December 2015 to N26.36 billion in January 2016.

Foreign portfolio investors have been selling off their emerging markets assets because of the slump in global commodity prices and the upward revision of U.S. interest rates. The All Share Index – the benchmark stock index of the NSE – has fallen by 9.49 percent so far this year, closing at 25,923.77 points on Thursday.