African stock markets delivered mixed performances in September, with Tanzania extending its rally while Kenya and South Africa experienced pullbacks and Ghana recorded its steepest monthly decline among the four exchanges reviewed.
The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) emerged as the strongest performer among the four markets, with its All-Share Index rising 4.82% in September to close at 4,654.42 points. Total market capitalisation increased to approximately $16.6 billion, equivalent to Tanzanian shillings 40.57 trillion at the end of the month.
The gains came despite foreign investors being net sellers of shares worth TSh34.03 billion ($12.90 million) during the month, with local investors absorbing the selling pressure. The Commercial Services sector led the advance, gaining 21.3%, while the banking, finance and investment sector rose 3.29%, according to our monthly tracking on the Mansa Markets.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), meanwhile, experienced a correction after a strong run in July and August. Its benchmark All-Share Index, known as NASI, fell 2.3% in September to close at 245.60 points, down from 251.33 at the end of August.
The decline followed a quarterly high of 255.34 points on September 3. Market capitalisation fell by approximately KSh96.3 billion to KSh4.12 trillion, equivalent to about $31.9 billion. Despite September’s setback, the market retained a 9.6% gain for the third quarter, reflecting the strength of the earlier rally.
South Africa and Ghana face selling pressure
South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the continent’s largest market among the four, recorded the sharpest decline in September. The JSE All-Share Index fell 6.7%, closing at 108,506.88 points after gaining 4.3% in August.
The reversal erased the previous month’s advance and left the index down 1.6% for the third quarter in rand terms. Despite the decline, the exchange’s estimated market capitalisation remained far ahead of its regional peers at approximately $1.37 trillion.
Ghana’s stock market also endured a difficult month. The Ghana Stock Exchange Composite Index fell 6.2% in September to 14,141.56 points, extending its decline after a 2.3% drop in August.
The fall reduced the index’s third-quarter performance to a 4% loss in local currency. The cedi’s depreciation against the US dollar deepened the decline for dollar-based investors, whose third-quarter return was negative 7.1%.
Ghana’s equity market was valued at approximately $24.4 billion at the end of September, based on reported market capitalisation of about 268.65 billion cedis and an indicative exchange rate.
What Market Size Says
Market capitalisation measures the combined market value of listed shares. It does not, on its own, indicate how actively shares are traded, how easily investors can enter or exit positions, or how attractive a market will be in the future.
Kenya’s decline came after two months of strong gains, while Tanzania continued to advance. South Africa surrendered its August rally, and Ghana extended its losses.
For investors tracking African equities, the next question is whether these divergent trends continue into the final quarter of 2026, particularly as currency movements and foreign investment flows influence returns across the continent.