June sell-off creates buy opportunities in 12 stocks for H2 2026
By Aboki Forex —
The Nigerian Exchange delivered one of its strongest performances in recent years in the first half of 2026, but June reminded investors that markets do not move in straight lines.
The All-Share Index fell to 232,049.02 points as of June 26, 2026, losing N982.96 billion in a single session. Year-to-date returns dropped below 50% for the first time this year. The market had hit 60.90% year-to-date in May and set an all-time high of 252,508 points before retreating more than 8% from that peak.
All sector indices closed in the red on June 26
Oil and Gas, the half-year strongest performer, is still up 90.31% year-to-date but down from its May peak of 123.94%. Industrial Goods holds 79.72% year-to-date, retreating from 115.74% in May. Banking stands at 40.53%, pulling back from 55.57%. Consumer Goods slipped from a May peak of 23.37% to 16.33%. Insurance is the only index in negative territory, down 6.07% year-to-date after briefly touching 6.20% in May.
Market lost over N11 trillion in June
The losses were led by Dangote Cement's N3.66 trillion, BUA Cement's N2.70 trillion, and Aradel Holdings which, despite still being up 111.57% year-to-date, lost N2.24 trillion in June alone. The rest came from speculative positions unwinding and policy-driven selling in banking and insurance.
Despite the June correction, the NGX has created over N48 trillion in market capitalisation year-to-date. The gains are driven by two telecoms giants, MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa, three cement companies, Dangote Cement, BUA Cement and Lafarge, two oil and gas producers, Seplat Energy and Aradel Holdings, two agriculture names, Presco and Okomu Oil, and five banks, Zenith, GTCO, StanbicIBTC, ETI and FBN Holdings.
These are the market's most capitalised and most institutionally held companies. They sit squarely within the five sectors analysts are most bullish on for the second half of the year. The correction, they argue, has not weakened the H2 investment thesis. In several sectors, it has sharpened it.
Oil and Gas returned 90.31% year-to-date, the strongest of any sector, despite pulling back from its May peak of 123.94%. The sector added N6.72 trillion in value in the first half.