…The market capitalisation followed the broader sell-off, declining 1.33% to N154.53 trillion
…Dangote Sugar rose 5.19%, Cadbury Nigeria gained 4.68%, Nestlé Nigeria advanced 1.43%, while Oando added 0.28%.
SAT AUG 22 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market extended its decline for a second consecutive week, with the benchmark NGX All-Share Index falling 1.35% week-on-week to 239,351.16 points as investors continued to lock in gains across several large-cap stocks.
The market capitalisation followed the broader sell-off, declining 1.33% to N154.53 trillion.
The retreat moderated the market’s year-to-date return to 53.81%, from 55.91% in the previous week, underscoring a further cooling in investor sentiment after the strong rally recorded earlier in the year.
The downturn was broad-based, with all major sectoral indices closing lower except the NGX Consumer Goods Index, which edged up 0.05%. The NGX Sovereign Bond Index was unchanged.
Selling pressure was particularly evident in major equities. MTNN fell 3.23% over the week, while FirstHoldCo declined 7.18%. GTCO and UBA also lost 1.17% and 0.88%, respectively, as investors reduced exposure to some of the market’s most actively traded banking and telecom stocks.
The losses were only partly offset by gains in selected consumer and industrial names.
Dangote Sugar rose 5.19%, Cadbury Nigeria gained 4.68%, Nestlé Nigeria advanced 1.43%, while Oando added 0.28%.
Trading activity loses momentum
The weekly decline in the benchmark was accompanied by a marked slowdown in trading activity.
Investors traded 6.242 billion shares valued at N157.764 billion in 186,496 deals, compared with 12.153 billion shares worth N176.058 billion in 224,146 deals in the preceding week.
The figures point to a significant reduction in market volume even as the value of transactions remained relatively resilient.
The Financial Services Industry remained the dominant segment by volume, accounting for 5.594 billion shares valued at N56.431 billion across 82,300 deals.
It represented 89.62% of total equity turnover by volume and 35.77% by value.
The ICT sector ranked second, with 143.704 million shares worth N29.793 billion traded in 23,740 deals, while the Services sector followed with 138.672m shares valued at N1.751 billion across 11,438 deals.
Activity was heavily concentrated in three insurance-related stocks. Fortis Global Insurance, Lasaco Assurance and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings accounted for 4.168 billion shares worth N9.249bn in 1,660 deals.
Together, the three equities represented 66.77% of total equity turnover by volume but only 5.86% by value.
Market breadth also deteriorated. Only 18 equities gained during the week, down from 26 in the previous week, while 59 stocks declined, unchanged from the prior week.
A further 70 equities closed flat, up from 62 previously.
Friday extends bearish trend
The final trading session of the week reinforced the negative tone, with both the NGX All-Share Index and total market capitalisation falling 0.29%.
Declines in Zenith Bank, FirstHoldCo, GTCO and Dangote Sugar outweighed gains in AccessCorp, UBA and Oando. Zenith Bank fell 1.13%, FirstHoldCo declined 1.55%, GTCO shed 0.47% and Dangote Sugar lost 2.79%.
Trading conditions were mixed. Volume fell 85.49% to 416.66 millio units, while transaction value rose 4.81% to N35.63 billion.
Sterling Financial Holdings led the volume table with 47.75m shares traded, while Seplat topped the value chart with transactions worth N8.40 billion.
Market breadth remained negative at 0.89x, with 27 stocks closing lower against 24 gainers.
Intensified selling in International Energy Insurance pushed the stock down 10%, making it the session’s biggest loser. RT Briscoe, meanwhile, gained 9.63% to lead the advancers.
NASD OTC market also retreats
The negative tone extended beyond the NGX to the NASD OTC market, where the NASD Security Index fell 0.54% on Friday to 4,261.64 points.
Market capitalisation declined by the same margin to N2.56tn, while the market’s year-to-date return eased to 20.26% from 20.91% in the previous session.
Unlike the NGX, trading activity on the NASD strengthened sharply. Volume rose 193.87% to 326,837 units, while transaction value surged 957.94% to N48.76 million. The number of executed trades also increased 36% to 34.
SDCSCS Plc was the session’s sole gainer, rising 0.96%, while SDFCWAMCO led the three decliners with a 4.64% fall.
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