Nigerian equities lose N469 billion as banking stocks drag market lower

Nigerian equity market capitalization shed N468.63 billion to close at N163.530 trillion on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, as trading activity on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed on a bearish note despite substantial liquidity.

Investors traded a total of 548,646,300 equity shares valued across 47,203 transactions.

Despite the high volume, the decline in banking, industrial goods, and consumer goods stocks pulled down the key market indicators.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 721.91 points (0.29%) to close at 251,913.20 points, down from Monday’s close of 252,635.11 points.

Market summary

• All-Share Index (ASI): Dropped to 251,913.20 points, down 0.29% from 252,635.11 points
• Market capitalization: Fell to N163.530 trillion, down 0.29% from N163.999 trillion
• Market value lost: N468.63 billion
• Trading volume: 548.65 million shares, down 46.42% from 1.024 billion shares
• Total deals: 47,203 deals, down 23.45% from 61,661 deals

Top 5 gainers

• NPF Microfinance Bank Plc (NPFMCRFBK): Up 10.00% to N4.40 from N4
• LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc (LIVINGTRUST): Up10.00% to N2.86 from N2.60
• Wapic Insurance Plc (WAPIC): Up 9.95% to N2.43 from N2.21
• VFD Group Plc (VFDGROUP): Up 9.84% to N13.40 from N12.20
• ABC Transport Plc (ABCTRANS): Up 9.82% to N6.15 from N5.60

Top 5 losers

• Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc (SOVRENINS): Down 9.92% to N2.36 from N2.62
• Unilever Nigeria Plc (UNILEVER): Down 8.55% to N100.50 from N109.90
• NEIMETH: Down 6.02% to N7.80 from N8.30
• University Press Plc (UPL): Down 6% to N4.70 from N5
• International Breweries Plc (INTBREW): Down 5.45% to N9.55 from N10.10

Driving the volume.

Market activity was strongly driven by top tier banking tickers.

• Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) led single-stock volume activity with 88.73 million shares traded, followed closely by United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) with 48.84 million shares, Fidelity Bank Plc with 45.64 million shares, Access Holdings Plc with 41.81 million shares, and Zenith Bank Plc with 34.21 million shares.
• In the ICT sector, Chams Holding Company Plc also recorded significant trading volume at 29.69 million shares.
• Activity across the trading boards showed that the Main Board recorded the lion’s share of market volume with 396,997,715 shares executed in 28,945 deals. The Premium Board followed with 135,334,823 shares traded in 15,093 deals.
• The Growth Board accounted for 8,017,942 shares in 1,256 deals, while the Non-Interest Finance Board recorded 6,369,677 shares across 1,302 deals. The REITs and Close End Funds board posted 1,926,143 shares in 607 deals.

Sectoral performance

Performance across sector indices was largely bearish, with key heavyweights dragging down the benchmark.

• NGX Banking Index declined by 0.91% from 2,752.82 points to 2,727.81 points, weighted down by pullbacks in GTCO (-3.28%), Ecobank Transnational (-2.86%), Access Corp (-2.51%), and Zenith Bank (-1.03%).
• NGX Industrial Index fell by 0.91% from 10,467.53 points to 10,372.27 points, impacted by price depreciation in BUA Cement (-3.10%) and Cutix Plc (-4.17%).
• NGX Consumer Goods Index dropped 0.83% from 4,090.41 points to 4,056.52 points, triggered by losses in Unilever (-8.55%), International Breweries (-5.45%), and Dangote Sugar Refinery (-1.43%).
• The NGX Insurance Index bucked the general trend, gaining 0.38% to close at 1,098.22 points (up from 1,094.10 points), boosted by gains in Wapic Insurance (+9.95%), AIICO Insurance (+3.95%), and Fortis Global Insurance (+3.31%).
• The NGX Growth Index advanced by 0.87% from 27,031.30 points to 27,266.77 points, driven by positive movement in Zichis Agro Allied (+3.75%) and The Initiates Plc (+2.10%).
• NGX Oil & Gas Index closed virtually flat with a marginal upward bias at 6,244.49 points (compared to 6,244.45 on Monday), as price gains in Eterna Plc (+2.92%) and Japaul Gold (+4.35%) offset a slight dip in Oando Plc (-1.00%).

Market breadth closed negative as 32 equities recorded price depreciations against 27 gainers.

What you should know

Tuesday’s market report is a contrast from Monday’s performance where trading activity experienced a surge in liquidity

Total market capitalization of listed equities had hit a record N163.999 trillion (approx. N164.00 trillion) on Monday, from N163.655 trillion recorded in the preceding trading session on September 25.