Nigerian Stock Market Index Falls 0.56% as Market Capitalisation Drops by N516 Billion

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the trading week lower on Friday, with key performance indicators slipping by 0.56 per cent.

Market capitalisation fell by N516 billion, or 0.56 per cent, ending the session at N92.214 trillion compared to N92.730 trillion recorded on Thursday. The All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 815.80 points, closing at 145,754.91 from 146,570.71 previously.

The downturn was largely driven by profit-taking in stocks such as Abbey Mortgage Bank, Custodian Investment Plc, Deap Capital Management, The Initiates, and 25 other equities.

Despite the decline, market breadth remained positive, with 42 gainers against 29 losers. Champion Breweries topped the gainers’ list, rising 10 per cent to close at N14.40 per share. Union Dicon Salt also gained 10 per cent to settle at N9.90 per share, while Universal Insurance advanced 10 per cent to N1.10 per share. Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.99 per cent to N155.75, and AXA Mansard increased by 9.99 per cent to N14.64.

On the losing side, Abbey Mortgage Bank dropped 9.87 per cent to N6.30 per share, while Custodian Investment Plc shed 8.48 per cent to N40.45. Deap Capital Management fell 7.53 per cent to N1.35, The Initiates Plc dipped 7.34 per cent to N12, and Nigerian Police Force Microfinance Bank declined 7.25 per cent to N3.20 per share.

Trading activity improved, with 2.21 billion shares worth N32.4 billion exchanged in 35,036 deals, compared to 1.98 billion shares valued at N27.3 billion traded in 35,291 deals on Thursday.

Linkage Assurance led the activity chart with 585.6 million shares worth N1.17 billion. Universal Insurance followed with 213.19 million shares valued at N234.5 million, while AIICO Insurance traded 178.5 million shares worth N618.1 million. Mutual Benefits Assurance recorded 137.84 million shares valued at N402.46 million, and Sterling Nigeria transacted 115.27 million shares worth N927.4 million.

Commenting on the market performance, Mr David Adonri, Vice President of Highcap Securities, said the decline was due to investors shifting attention towards insurance stocks.

He noted that this followed President Bola Tinubu’s signing of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA 2025) into law. “The market had been bullish for a while due to price-sensitive information, as companies declared their half-year results, until President Tinubu assented to the NIIRA 2025, when investors began to embrace insurance stocks.

“Unfortunately, they could not sustain the rush. Investors need to know that no rally in the market is sustained indefinitely. What happened today is absolutely normal,” he said.