THUR AUG 27 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market extended its recent weakness on Wednesday, with broad-based selling pressure pushing the benchmark All-Share Index down 0.2% to 238,682.92 points, while trading activity on the NASD OTC market almost dried up.
The decline was led by sharp losses in FIDSON, which fell 10.0%, and FTNCOCOA, down 9.9%, as investors continued to lock in gains and reposition portfolios following the market’s strong rally this year.
Other major decliners included JAIZBANK (-7.7%), OANDO (-3.0%) and ZENITHBANK (-2.1%), adding pressure to the broader market.
Despite Wednesday’s decline, the NGX remains strongly positive for the year, with its year-to-date return at 53.4%.
However, the market’s month-to-date performance slipped to -2.7%, signalling a significant loss of momentum after the earlier rally.
Market capitalisation fell 0.17% to ₦154.14 trillion.
The weakness was reflected in market breadth, with 41 stocks closing lower against 17 gainers, producing a negative sentiment reading of 0.4x.
FIDSON and FTNCOCOA recorded the largest declines, while NEIMETH (+9.7%) and NEM (+6.7%) posted the strongest gains.
The breadth of the losses suggests that Wednesday’s weakness was broader than a correction in a few highly capitalised stocks. Investors appeared increasingly selective, with selling pressure spreading across banking, insurance, consumer goods and oil & gas counters.
All four of these sectors closed lower. The Insurance Index declined 0.9%, the Banking Index fell 0.4%, Consumer Goods shed 0.3%, while Oil & Gas declined 0.1%. The Industrial Goods Index closed flat.
Activity on the NGX remained relatively robust. Total volume traded increased 9.7% to 733.35 million shares, while transaction value reached ₦34.52 billion across 49,210 deals.
FTGINSURE dominated trading by volume, with 134.01 million units exchanged, while FIRSTHOLDCO accounted for the highest transaction value at ₦11.06 billion.
NASD trading activity collapses
The bearish tone was also evident on the NASD OTC market, although the most striking development was the sharp contraction in trading activity.
The NASD Securities Index (NSI) declined 0.13% to 4,284.06 points, while market capitalisation fell by the same margin to ₦2.57 trillion.
The market’s YTD return consequently moderated to 20.89%, from 21.05% in the previous session.
However, trading volume plunged 98.74% to just 23,680 units, while transaction value dropped 80.48% to ₦2.13 million. Only 21 trades were executed, down 61.11% from the previous session.
The session was particularly weak on the price-performance front, with no stock recording a gain. SDPURPLERE, which declined 11.11%, was the sole stock to close lower.
The extremely low turnover points to a sharp reduction in investor participation in the NASD market during the session and highlights the significant liquidity gap between the OTC market and the much more actively traded NGX.
Naira gains as equities retreat
While equities came under pressure, the naira strengthened further at the official foreign exchange market.
The official exchange rate appreciated by 0.3% to ₦1,343.47/$, extending recent gains in the local currency.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves increased by 0.53% to $53.11 billion as of 24 August 2026, reflecting the continued improvement in the country’s reserve position amid sustained foreign-exchange inflows.
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