THUR AUG 13 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market extended its decline on Wednesday, with the NGX All-Share Index falling 1.12% to 243,967.09 points, as heavy selling in BUA Foods, Unilever Nigeria and UACN outweighed gains in several large and mid-cap stocks.
The latest drop takes the benchmark’s cumulative loss since Tuesday to 1.84%, after the index fell 0.73% in the previous session.
Market capitalisation has shed roughly N2.95 trillion over the two sessions, falling from about N160.44 trillion at Monday’s close to N157.49 trillion on Wednesday.
The market’s YTD gain has consequently narrowed sharply from 60.03% at Monday’s close to 56.78%.
The selloff was concentrated in some of the market’s heavyweight names. BUA Foods and Unilever each fell about 10%, while UACN declined 2.86%. Their losses outweighed advances in ETI, CWG and Nestlé, which gained 9.93%, 9.74% and 1.82%, respectively.
An analyst said the retreat appears to reflect a broadening bout of profit-taking after the market’s powerful rally, rather than a wholesale shift in investor sentiment.
With the NGX having delivered exceptional gains this year, investors may be increasingly willing to lock in profits, particularly in stocks that have experienced substantial price appreciation.
“After such a strong run, the market is becoming more sensitive to profit-taking and valuation concerns,” the analyst said.
“The fact that the index is falling even though market breadth remains slightly positive suggests that selling pressure is concentrated in a few influential stocks rather than being completely market-wide.”
That distinction was evident in Wednesday’s breadth. Twenty-eight stocks advanced against 27 decliners, producing a marginally positive breadth ratio of 1.04x, even as the benchmark lost more than 1%.
Intense selling in BUA Foods was particularly significant, with the stock recording the market’s largest decline.
Trading activity also weakened considerably. Volume fell 62.78% to 1.46 billion shares, while transaction value dropped 35.55% to N20.94 billion.
UNIVINSURE accounted for the largest volume at 251.82 million shares, while FirstHoldCo led by value with N3.90 billion.
For investors, the immediate question is whether the two-day decline represents a normal correction within a still-strong bull market or the beginning of a deeper reversal.
The sharp reduction in trading activity and the relatively balanced market breadth provide some evidence against a broad-based capitulation, although continued weakness in heavyweight stocks could put further pressure on the index.
The market’s YTD return remains a substantial 56.78%, underscoring how much of the year’s rally is still intact despite the recent pullback.
The next sessions will therefore be important for determining whether buyers return at lower valuations or whether profit-taking gains further momentum.
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