Zenith Bank, Access Holdings Selloffs Drag NGX Down by N1trn
Zenith Bank, Access Holdings, FirstHoldco, among others, dragged the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) down by more than N1 trillion, further reducing year-to-date returns.
The local bourse extended the recent bloodbath on Thursday with divergence in key performance indicators following Fortis Global Insurance’s additional shares listing.
As a result of the new listing, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) declined by -0.66%, while the market capitalisation plunged by -0.63%.
The market welcomed the additional listing of 15,000,000,000 Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo Each Arising from the Conversion of Fortis Global Insurance Plc’s N12,000,000,000.00 Debt to Equity at N0.80 Per Share.
Stockbrokers reported that the market index fell by -1,617.91 basis points to close at 245,362.26. Also, market capitalisation declined by ₦1,005.09 billion, representing a decline of -0.63%, settling at ₦158.34 trillion.
Investors took profit on HBMNG (4%), ZENITHBANK (-3.6%), ACCESSCORP (-3.33%), and FIRSTHOLDCO (-3.96%), among others, across major market sectors amidst Q2 earnings release.
Total volume and total transactions valued surged by +177.01% and +583.04%, respectively. In a note, Atlass Portfolio Limited told investors that approximately 2,102.16 million units valued at ₦230,832.54 million transacted across 48,231 deals.
FIRSTHOLDCO drove volume, accounting for 74.82% of all companies’ shares traded in the market, followed by ACCESSCORP (1.78%), STERLINGNG (1.71%), ELLAHLAKES (1.65%), and ZENITHBANK (1.58%).
Also, FIRSTHOLDCO accounted for 85.04% of the total value of all stocks traded in the local bourse, thereby making it the highest traded on the exchange.
LEGENDINT led the gainers chart, up by +8.64%, then trailed by DAARCOMM (+7.32%), STERLINGNG (+6.67%), SOVRENINS (+5.73%), ROYALEX (+4.69%), CAVERTON (+2.97%), and eleven others.
A total of forty-four stocks depreciated. With a price depreciation of -10.00%, TRIPPLEG topped the worst performers’ chart, followed by LASACO (-9.92%), CILEASING (-9.84%), MBENEFIT (-9.80%), TRANSEXPR (-9.03%), and LIVESTOCK (-8.99%).
Hence, market breadth closed on a negative note, with 17 gainers and 44 losers. Sectoral performance was negative today as four of the five major market sectors declined.
The Insurance sector led the decline by -2.26%, followed by the Banking sector (-2.04%), the Consumer goods sector (-1.10%), and the Industrial goods sector (-0.70%). Only the Oil & Gas sector increased by +0.01%. United Capital Delivers Robust H1 2026 Earnings, Declares 30 Kobo Interim Dividend
