Nigerian Stock Market Closes at N158.7trn, Delivers 57.6% Return
The Nigerian stock market capitalisation closed at N158.70 trillion at the end of July with a year-to-date return of 57.62% following significant sell-offs last week.
The local bourse extended its pullback last week as profit-taking activities outweighed buying interest across major sectors of the market, stockbrokers said.
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 0.81% week-on-week to close at 245,283.68 points, while total market capitalisation fell by approximately N887 billion to N158.70 trillion.
The market cap declined despite the supplementary listing of 15 billion ordinary shares by Fortis Global Plc, underscoring the broad-based selling pressure that characterised trading during the week.
Consequently, the market’s year-to-date return moderated to 57.62%, although it continues to rank among the strongest-performing equity markets globally in 2026, according to Cowry Asset Management Limited.
The investment firm said equities investor sentiment remained subdued throughout the week, as reflected in negative market breadth.
The market recorded 32 gainers against 54 losers, translating to a market breadth ratio of 0.59x, an indication that declining stocks significantly outnumbered advancing equities.
Despite the weaker price performance, trading activity strengthened considerably as investors actively repositioned their portfolios.
Total transaction volume rose by 15.46% week-on-week to 5.12 billion shares, while the number of executed deals increased by 11.59% to 285,614 transactions.
Similarly, the value of trades surged by 32.22% to N404.99 billion, suggesting that institutional investors remained active despite the market correction. Sectoral performance was largely negative, with four of the five major sectoral indices closing lower.
The Banking Index emerged as the worst-performing sector, declining by 0.69% following significant selloffs in ACCESSCORP, WEMABANK, FCMB, and UBA. Stockbrokers attributed the development to investors’ decision to lock in gains after the sector’s strong rally in recent months.
The Consumer Goods Index followed with a 0.35% decline, pressured by losses in International Breweries, Vitafoam, and Nigerian Breweries, reflecting persistent concerns over elevated production costs, inflationary pressures, and subdued consumer demand.
The Oil & Gas Index eased by 0.24%, largely driven by profit-taking in OANDO, while the Industrial Goods Index shed 0.20% amid declines in TRIPPLE GEE, Austin Laz, and MEYER. The Commodity Index also retreated by 0.87%, extending the broadly cautious sentiment across cyclical sectors.
The Insurance Index was the sole outperformer during the week, advancing 1.72% as renewed buying interest in CONHALLPLC, LASACO, and NEM Insurance lifted the sector.
The gains reflected selective bargain hunting in undervalued insurance counters following previous market weakness.
On the price performance table, CMFC emerged as the week’s best-performing stock with a 22.8% gain, followed by CNIF (+20.9%), THOMASWY (+20.7%), CONHALLPLC (+19.6%), and LASACO (+18.7%), highlighting renewed investor appetite for selected small- and mid-cap stocks.
Conversely, ABCTRANS topped the losers’ chart after shedding 18.4%, followed by TRIPPLE GEE (-15.5%), VERITASKAP (-15.4%), International Breweries (- 13.9%), and OMATEK (-12.9%), as sustained profit-taking and weak investor sentiment continued to pressure these counters.
“Looking ahead, we expect market sentiment to remain mixed as investors continue to digest the ongoing corporate earnings releases and assess management guidance for the second half of the year.
“While intermittent profit-taking may persist following the market’s strong year-to-date performance, we anticipate bargain hunting in fundamentally sound stocks—particularly within the banking and industrial sectors—to provide support to the market”, Cowry Asset told investors in a note.
The firm said relatively stable macroeconomic conditions, moderating inflation, improved foreign exchange stability, and sustained domestic institutional participation are expected to underpin investor confidence over the medium term, although elevated valuations may continue to encourage periodic portfolio rebalancing. US Equities Sold Off, European Markets Diverge as Sentiment Shifts
