African Stock Market Indices Explained — MASI, BRVM, TUNINDEX, EGX 30, JSE Top 40, NGX ASI, NSE 20
Stock market indices are the thermometer of financial markets. But across Africa's seven major exchanges, each index tells a different story: float-adjusted market cap weighting or price weighting, dividend reinvestment or not, 15% caps or extreme single-stock concentration. This guide dissects the continent's 15 major indices, their mechanics, their traps, and how to compare them across currencies.
A stock market index condenses the performance of a basket of stocks into a single number. It serves as a market thermometer, a benchmark for portfolio managers, and the underlying asset for ETFs. But not all indices are created equal: their construction — number of constituents, weighting method, dividend treatment — determines what story they actually tell.
Two essential concepts before comparing African indices:
Price Return vs Total Return Index. A *price return* index only tracks share price changes. A *total return* index reinvests dividends in the calculation. On African markets, where dividend yields reach 5–9%, this distinction radically changes the picture. Example: TUNINDEX is explicitly a total return index (dividends reinvested), while the NGX 30 is a price index.
Why exchanges maintain multiple indices. The broad index (all stocks) serves as a general barometer. The blue-chip index (Top 40, NGX 30, MSI20) targets liquidity. The equal-weight index (EGX 70 EWI) corrects for domination by a few giants. The capped index (TUNINDEX, 15% cap) prevents a single stock from overwhelming the benchmark.
The MASI is a comprehensive index: it includes every stock listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. Float-adjusted market cap weighting means only shares actually available for trading count — blocks held by founders or the state are excluded. A capping factor prevents any single stock from dominating the index.
For institutional liquidity needs, the exchange also publishes the MSI20 — the 20 most actively traded stocks over a rolling six-month period.
How to invest: No public MASI ETF. Access through direct stocks, Moroccan mutual funds, or the VanEck Africa Index ETF (AFK) which includes Casablanca blue chips.
BRVM — Composite and BRVM 30
BRVM Composite
Feature
Detail
What it Measures
The entire BRVM equity market (8 WAEMU countries)
Constituents
~47 (all listed stocks)
Weighting
Market capitalization
Type
Price return (Total Return version available)
5-Year Performance
+190%
Currency
XOF (CFA franc, pegged to the euro)
The BRVM Composite is the broad barometer of the West African regional exchange — a unique case globally: a single stock exchange for eight countries (Senegal, Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Togo). The +190% five-year performance makes it one of the continent's top-performing indices.
The structural advantage: the CFA franc is pegged to the euro (1 EUR = 655.957 XOF). For a euro-based investor, local and euro-denominated performance are identical — a rare luxury in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2025, the Composite gained 25.3% in XOF/EUR and 41.8% in USD (due to dollar weakness against the euro).
BRVM 30
Feature
Detail
What it Measures
The 30 most active and capitalized stocks
Constituents
30
Launch
January 2, 2023 (base 100)
Selection Criteria
50%, average transaction
market median |
Rebalancing
Quarterly
The BRVM 30 replaced the older BRVM 10 to provide a more representative benchmark. Its selection criteria are among the most rigorous on the continent: a company must be profitable in 3 of the last 5 fiscal years and maintain trading frequency consistently above 50%. Note: no 5-year history available (launched 2023).
Dominant stocks: Sonatel (Senegal, telecoms), Orange Cote d'Ivoire (telecoms), Ecobank CI (finance), Coris Bank International (Burkina Faso, finance).
Tunisia — TUNINDEX
Feature
Detail
What it Measures
The entire Tunisian equity market
Constituents
~65
Weighting
Float-adjusted market cap, 15% cap per stock
Type
Total Return (dividends reinvested)
Base
1,000 on 12/31/1997
1-Year Performance
+40% (all-time high ~15,400 points in March 2026)
Rebalancing
Quarterly (January, April, July, October)
The TUNINDEX stands out for two important features:
1.It is a total return index — dividends are reinvested in the calculation. Comparing TUNINDEX to a *price return* index (like the MASI or NGX ASI) is comparing apples to oranges. TUNINDEX will systematically appear more performant over the long term, simply because it includes dividends.
1.The 15% cap — no single stock can exceed 15% of the index weight. This rule prevents single-stock domination, which is crucial in a market where the financial sector represents over 60% of capitalization.
Influential stocks: BIAT (14.5% of the market), Poulina Group Holding, Attijari Bank, SFBT, Amen Bank.
TUNINDEX is also published in USD and EUR, facilitating international comparisons. To invest: direct stocks or Tunisian funds. No public TUNINDEX ETF.
Egypt — EGX 30, EGX 70 EWI, EGX 100 EWI
The EGX is the continent's most sophisticated exchange for index engineering, with a three-tier system designed to solve the concentration problem.
EGX 30
Feature
Detail
What it Measures
The 30 most active and liquid companies
Weighting
Float-adjusted market cap
Liquidity Threshold
Trading on at least 95% of days during the review period
Sector Constraint
Max 5 companies per sector
Buffer Rule
Top 27 automatic, current members within top 33 prioritized
Rebalancing
Semi-annual (February 1, August 1)
5-Year Performance
+344%
The EGX 30 is the flagship. Its nominal +344% five-year performance is spectacular — but largely reflects Egyptian pound devaluation and domestic inflation. In USD, the return is significantly more modest (but still positive: +49.4% in 2025 alone, thanks to FX reforms and foreign capital inflows).
Dominant stock: Commercial International Bank (CIB) — the undisputed heavyweight.
EGX 70 EWI and EGX 100 EWI (Equal Weight)
Index
Constituents
Weighting
5-Year Performance
EGX 70 EWI
70 (excluding EGX 30)
Equal
+547%
EGX 100 EWI
100 (EGX 30 + EGX 70)
Equal
+519%
Egypt made a strategic choice: use equal weighting for its mid-cap and broad indices. Each stock carries the same weight, which prevents CIB or TMG from dominating the benchmark, better reflects overall market sentiment, and has systematically outperformed the EGX 30 over the long term (as Egyptian mid-caps outperformed blue chips).
Available ETF: EGX30 ETF (locally listed).
South Africa — FTSE/JSE All Share (J203) and FTSE/JSE Top 40 (J200)
FTSE/JSE All Share (J203)
Feature
Detail
What it Measures
~99% of Main Board capitalization
Constituents
Variable (no fixed number)
Weighting
Investable market cap (float + liquidity, FTSE Russell methodology)
5-Year Performance
+70.5%
Rebalancing
Quarterly (March, June, September, December)
FTSE/JSE Top 40 (J200)
Feature
Detail
What it Measures
The 40 largest stocks by investable market cap
Constituents
40
5-Year Performance
+80.4%
The JSE is Africa's deepest and most liquid market, and its indices are co-managed with FTSE Russell according to the strictest international standards.
The "Rand Hedge" phenomenon: over 65% of Top 40 company earnings are generated outside South Africa in foreign currencies (USD, GBP, EUR). Consequence: when the rand weakens, the index rises (foreign earnings are worth more in ZAR). This defensive effect is unique to the JSE.
Top 5 constituents (February 2026): Gold Fields (10.0%), AngloGold Ashanti (8.6%), Naspers (8.1%), FirstRand (6.2%), Standard Bank (5.1%).
ETFs: Satrix Top 40 (STX40), Satrix ALSI, Sygnia Itrix Top 40 — among the most liquid financial instruments in Africa.
Nigeria — NGX All-Share (ASI) and NGX 30
NGX All-Share Index (ASI)
Feature
Detail
What it Measures
The entire NGX market
Weighting
Market capitalization
5-Year Performance
+411%
The Nigerian ASI has experienced one of the most explosive bull runs in global frontier markets. But as with Egypt, this nominal performance largely reflects naira devaluation. In USD, returns are impressive (+60.6% in 2025 alone) but well below the nominal headline.
NGX 30
Feature
Detail
What it Measures
The 30 largest companies by capitalization and liquidity
ETFs: Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF (VETGRIF30) — replicates price and yield performance of the 30 constituents. Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 also available.
Kenya — NSE 20 and NSE All-Share (NASI)
NSE 20 Share Index
Feature
Detail
What it Measures
20 blue-chip stocks
Weighting
Price-weighted
Constituents
20
The NSE 20 is a historical relic: created in the 1960s, it still uses price weighting (like the old Dow Jones). This means stocks with the highest unit price (like BAT Kenya) have disproportionate influence, regardless of their actual company size. This methodology is considered obsolete for institutional management.
NSE All-Share Index (NASI)
Feature
Detail
What it Measures
The entire Kenyan market
Weighting
Market capitalization (market-cap weighted)
2025 Performance
+51.1% in KES, +51.5% in USD
The NASI is the modern benchmark. But it suffers from the "Safaricom problem": at approximately 47-65% of total NSE capitalization, Safaricom dominates the index so thoroughly that the NASI is essentially a barometer for a single company.
Comparison
NASI
NSE 20
Method
Cap-weighted
Price-weighted
Safaricom Weight
~47-65%
~1%
Institutional Use
Yes
Outdated
Comparison Traps: A Practical Guide
Concentration Risk
On nearly every African exchange, the top 3-5 stocks represent between 35% and 65% of the total index. In practice, "investing in the index" often means betting on a handful of companies:
Market
Concentration
Dominant Stock
Kenya (NASI)
Extreme (~50-65%)
Safaricom
JSE (Top 40)
High (~35%)
Gold Fields + AngloGold
Egypt (EGX 30)
High
CIB
Nigeria (ASI)
Moderate-High
Dangote Cement
Morocco (MASI)
Moderate (capped)
Attijariwafa Bank
BRVM (Composite)
Moderate
Sonatel
Tunisia (TUNINDEX)
Moderate (15% cap)
BIAT
The 2017 Steinhoff collapse on the JSE — causing systemic losses across "diversified" funds — illustrates the danger: apparent diversification in a broad index can be illusory when a few stocks dominate.
Comparing Indices Across Currencies
The conversion formula:
USD Return = (1 + Local Return) x (1 + FX Change) - 1
In 2025, the BRVM Composite gained 25.3% in XOF but 41.8% in USD — the difference comes from dollar weakness against the euro (CFA is pegged to EUR). Conversely, a Nigerian index gaining 50% in NGN may yield only 10% in USD if the naira lost 40%.
Rule of thumb: always compare in a reference currency (USD or EUR) for international comparisons. Use local currency to judge internal market dynamics.
Total Return vs Price Return: The Real Benchmark
Index
Type
Dividends Included?
TUNINDEX
Total Return
Yes
BRVM Composite
Price (TR available)
No (except TR version)
MASI
Price Return
No
EGX 30
Price Return
No
JSE Top 40
Price (TR available)
No (except TR version)
NGX 30
Price Return
No
NSE 20/NASI
Price Return
No
On markets where dividends represent 5-9% annually, the Total Return version outperforms Price Return by 30-50% over five years. If you compare your portfolio (which collects dividends) to a price return index, you're understating the real benchmark.
Summary Table
Exchange
Primary Index
Weighting
Constituents
Rebalancing
5yr Perf
Morocco
MASI
Float cap (capped)
~75
Annual
+49.8%
BRVM
BRVM Composite
Market cap
~47
—
+190%
BRVM
BRVM 30
Market cap
30
Quarterly
n/a (since 2023)
Tunisia
TUNINDEX
Float cap (15% cap)
~65
Quarterly
Record 2026
Egypt
EGX 30
Float cap
30
Semi-annual
+344%
Egypt
EGX 70 EWI
Equal
70
Semi-annual
+547%
JSE
FTSE/JSE All Share
Investable cap
Variable
Quarterly
+70.5%
JSE
FTSE/JSE Top 40
Investable cap
40
Quarterly
+80.4%
Nigeria
NGX ASI
Market cap
All
—
+411%
Nigeria
NGX 30
Adjusted cap
30
Semi-annual
—
Kenya
NSE 20
Price (obsolete)
20
Quarterly
—
Kenya
NASI
Market cap
All
—
+51% (2025)
*Information provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.*
