NGX Drops 0.25% as Industrial, Insurance Stocks Drag Market, Banking and Oil Gain
By Aboki Forex —
The Nigerian Exchange Limited closed lower last week, with the benchmark All-Share Index falling 0.25% to 249,712.37 points from 250,330.92 points the previous week. Market capitalisation dropped 0.23% to N160.077tn, wiping billions of naira off investors’ portfolios.
The decline was driven by heavy selling in industrial and insurance stocks. The NGX Industrial Goods Index fell 1.24% to 12,252.18 points, while the NGX Insurance Index led sectoral losses, dropping 1.77% to 1,245.52 points.
Banking stocks provided some relief. The NGX Banking Index gained 1.11% to close at 2,416.78 points. The oil and gas sector also edged up 0.07%.
Trading activity weakened sharply. Investors traded 3.875 billion shares worth N161.76bn in 334,745 deals, compared to 7.772 billion shares worth N374.04bn in 402,945 deals the prior week. That represents a 50% drop in turnover.
The financial services industry led activity by volume, with 2.410 billion shares worth N69.71bn traded in 126,919 deals. Banking alone accounted for 62.19% of total equity turnover volume and 43.10% of value. The services industry followed with 409.31 million shares worth N5.41bn, while oil and gas came third with 294.86 million shares worth N31.50bn.
Top traded equities included Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and Access Holdings Plc. Together they accounted for 1.092 billion shares worth N19.53bn in 21,683 deals, or 28.18% of weekly turnover volume.
Despite the broader market slide, some stocks gained. Associated Bus Company Plc rose 44.82% to N9.08 per share. Academy Press Plc jumped 29.79% to N9.15, and University Press Plc gained 28.00% to N6.40. International Energy Insurance Plc climbed 22.22% to N3.41.
On the losing side, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc dropped 22.45% to N2.28. Trans-Nationwide Express Plc fell 18.98% to N5.72. CAP Plc declined 14.85% to N199.00, and Berger Paints Plc lost 12.64% to N147.60.
Selective buying by local institutional funds kept the banking and oil indices in positive territory, even as the broader market fell.
Fixed Income and Capital Market Activity
On the fixed-income side, the Federal Government listed its April 2026 FGN Savings Bonds on the official list on Monday, 18 May. The listings included N864.96m under a two-year tenor maturing in 2028 with a 13.082% coupon, and N2.77bn under a three-year tenor maturing in 2029 with a 14.082% coupon.
On Wednesday, 20 May, the Nigerian Exchange listed 882.06 million additional ordinary shares of Eterna Plc. The shares came from a Rights Issue of 978.11 million ordinary shares at N22.00 each, which achieved a 90.18% subscription rate. Eterna’s total issued shares rose from 1.30 billion to 2.19 billion ordinary shares, adding depth to the energy segment.