The first week of February 2026 was a tale of divergent paths. Across the Atlantic, investors faced a tech reckoning, questioning the dizzying heights of artificial intelligence stocks. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, a wave of optimism lifted the equity market to its strongest weekly gain in weeks. 

Let’s unpack the forces at play from Wall Street to Lagos. 

Global Economy 

US: The Great Tech Rotation 

US equity markets ended a volatile week with wildly different outcomes depending on what you owned. If you were heavily invested in large-cap technology stocks, you had a brutal week as they had their worst weekly performance since November, dragging the Nasdaq Composite down 1.84%.  

What triggered the sell-off? Growing concerns surround the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence, and investors are growing wary of overinvestment in the technology itself. 

That uncertainty hit high-growth tech stocks that have led the bull run for years. These are the names that trade at premium valuations because investors believe in their AI-driven futures. 

Where the Money Went 

While tech struggled, cyclical and value-oriented stocks surged. The S&P MidCap 400, Russell 2000, and Dow Jones Industrial Average all posted solid gains. The S&P 500 finished flat, caught between its tech-heavy constituents dragging it down and everything else pushing it up. 

The Russell 1000 Value Index outperformed its growth counterpart by more than 400 basis points. That’s a 4-percentage point spread in one week. This rotation suggests a broader search for value beyond the tech spotlight. Corporate earnings developments and ongoing geopolitical tensions added to the volatility, but the AI overinvestment narrative was the main driver. 

Eurozone: ECB Stays Put as Inflation Falls 

The European Central Bank left its key deposit rate unchanged at 2.0% for the fifth consecutive meeting. That decision came as no surprise. Policymakers noted the economy remains resilient despite a challenging global environment, and inflation should stabilize around the 2% target over the medium term. 

ECB President Christine Lagarde described the policy stance as “broadly balanced” and said monetary policy was in a good place. This means that they don’t see a reason to move rates in either direction right now. 

Inflation data supported that stance. Headline inflation slowed to 1.7% in January, down from 1.9% in December. That’s below the ECB’s 2% target. A stronger euro and easing cost pressures drove the decline, even though energy prices ticked higher. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, fell to 2.2%, its lowest level since October 2021. Services inflation also moderated, dropping to 3.2% from 3.4%. For now, the ECB is waiting and watching rather than reacting. 

Sub-Saharan African Economies 

Eurobond yields across major Sub-Saharan economies showed mixed movements week-on-week:

Ghana: Inflation Falls Below Target 

Ghana delivered one of the cleanest data prints of the week. Inflation slowed to 3.8% in January, down from 5.4% in December. That marks the 13th consecutive monthly decline and the lowest level since the 2021 CPI rebasing. 

Both food and non-food components eased. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose just 0.2%, down from 0.9% the previous month. That’s a significant slowdown in the pace of price increases. 

Inflation is now well below the Bank of Ghana’s 8% target band. This gives the central bank plenty of room to keep cutting interest rates. They’ve already slashed rates by a cumulative 12.5 percentage points since July 2025, and these numbers suggest more cuts could be on the way. 

The bigger picture is improving macro stability. Ghana is nearing completion of its IMF programme, and consistently low inflation underscores that the country’s economic stabilization is taking hold. The central bank can now focus more on supporting growth rather than fighting runaway prices. 

Egypt: Business Activity Slips Below Breakeven 

Egypt’s S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index fell marginally into contraction at 49.8 in January from 50.2 in December. This marks a mild deterioration in non-oil business conditions. 

The picture is mixed. Output grew for the third straight month, supported by external demand. Exports are holding up, but domestic orders softened, backlogs declined, and purchasing activity eased. Companies are seeing spare capacity. 

Employment was the real weak spot. The latest reading showed the sharpest contraction in hiring since late 2023. Firms are cutting staff as they adjust to weaker local demand. 

There was one positive development. Subdued cost pressures allowed firms to cut their selling prices for the first time since mid-2020. It suggests competitive pressure is working, and inflation isn’t a binding constraint right now. Business sentiment remains cautiously optimistic, with firms expecting a gradual recovery in demand. 

Domestic Economy 

Major Updates During the Week 

• Private Sector Still Expanding: Nigeria’s private sector stayed firmly in expansion territory in January 2026. The CBN Composite PMI came in at 55.7 points in January, supported by growth across agriculture, industry, and services, and stronger output and new orders. Stable FX conditions and moderating inflation helped underpin stronger output and new orders. Together, these trends point to firmer GDP growth in Q1 2026. 
• Electric Vehicle Partnership:The Federal Government signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s Asia Economic Development Committee (AEDC) to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing facility and expand charging infrastructure nationwide. This is part of the government’s push to develop local manufacturing capacity and reduce dependence on imported vehicles. 

Equity Market: Strong Rebound After Two-Week Slide 

The Nigerian stock market closed the week on a bullish note, reversing losses from the previous two weeks. The NGX All-Share Index surged 3.84% to close at 171,727.49 points, up from 165,370.40 points. Market capitalization rose in tandem to ₦110.23 trillion from ₦106.15 trillion. 

The rally was driven by heightened trading activity across oil and gas, industrials, banking, and consumer goods. Investor sentiment improved rapidly as buyers stepped in across the board. 

Market breadth was strongly positive. Seventy-one stocks posted gains, led by strong performances in JBERGER, CUSTODIAN, NGXGROUP, and SKYAVN. Thirty-five stocks declined, with UHOMREIT and NNFM among the notable laggards. 

On the sector front, four of the five major indices closed higher. The Oil and Gas index led the advance with a robust 10.88% weekly gain, reflecting renewed risk appetite. Energy stocks continue to attract buying interest as investors bet on sustained production improvements and favorable global oil prices. 

Fixed Income Market: Yields Plunge on Strong Demand 

Activity in the fixed income market was defined by strong demand at primary auctions and a continued decline in yields across the secondary market. 

At the most recent Treasury Bills auction by the Debt Management Office, total subscriptions reached ₦4.586 trillion across the three tenors on offer, underscoring sustained investor appetite. Of this amount, the DMO allotted ₦953 billion, reflecting a selective allocation despite heavy demand. 

A notable outcome of the auction was the sharp repricing at the short end of the curve. The stop rate on the 1-year bill declined by 137 basis points to 16.987%, down from 18.36% at the previous auction. In contrast, stop rates on the 91-day and 182-day bills were unchanged, indicating a more measured adjustment across shorter maturities. 

In the secondary market, sentiment remained bullish over the week: 

• Treasury bill yields fell by 60 basis points to 17.62%, driven largely by investors positioning into newly issued bills and continued demand for other short- and mid-tenor instruments. 

• The bond market followed a similar pattern. Average bond yields declined by 31 basis points to 16.17%, reflecting buying across the curve as investors responded to the evolving yield environment. 

• Nigeria’s Eurobond market was comparatively stable. Average yields ended the week flat at 7.07%, suggesting a pause in price movement rather than a shift in sentiment. 

Looking ahead, conditions point to selective participation across the fixed-income space, as investors balance declining yields with relative value across tenors. 

The Bottom Line 

Taken together, this week’s developments point to a market environment that is adjusting rather than retreating. Investors are no longer treating risk as a single, global trade. Instead, they are responding to relative value, policy credibility, and signs of macro stability on a market‑by‑market basis. 

In advanced economies, questions around crowded growth trades and earnings sustainability are driving rotation rather than outright risk aversion. Across parts of Africa, disinflation is beginning to create space for more flexible monetary policy, even as uneven growth challenges persist. In Nigeria, improving macro indicators, softer yields, and supportive regulatory signals are helping to restore confidence across both equities and fixed income. 

This does not eliminate uncertainty, nor does it guarantee sustained momentum. Conditions remain sensitive to policy decisions and global risk sentiment. Still, the tone has shifted. Markets are responding more to fundamentals than headlines.