Selling pressure in banking and insurance stocks pushed Nigeria’s equities market deeper into the red on Monday, with investors losing more than N106 billion in market value.
Nigeria’s stock market extended its losing streak to five consecutive trading sessions, as renewed selling pressure in heavyweight banking and insurance stocks dragged the benchmark lower.
The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 0.07 per cent on Monday, August 17, 2026, closing at 242,454.65 points, compared with 242,619.20 points in the previous session.
The decline wiped approximately N106.24 billion from the market’s capitalisation, which slipped from N156.62 trillion to N156.52 trillion.
The latest loss further moderated the market’s year-to-date return to 55.81 per cent, underscoring the growing pressure on equities following a difficult previous week.
The market had already recorded a 1.20 per cent decline in the All-Share Index last week, while total market capitalisation fell by 1.19 per cent.
Selling pressure spreads across the market
Investor sentiment remained weak during Monday’s session, with 36 stocks closing lower against just 18 gainers.
The breadth of the decline suggests that the selling pressure was not restricted to a handful of stocks, although some heavyweight counters exerted greater pressure on the benchmark.
Trading activity presented a mixed picture.
The volume of shares traded dropped by 5.89 per cent to 1.33 billion shares, while market turnover plunged by 49.40 per cent to N22.93 billion.
However, the number of transactions increased by 16.25 per cent to 45,494 deals, indicating that investors were executing more trades despite the significantly lower value of transactions.
NGX Group, Stanbic IBTC lead heavyweight losses
NGX Group was among the biggest heavyweight drags on the market, falling 4.11 per cent to N133.10 from N138.80.
The decline erased N5.70 from the company’s share price and contributed significantly to the pressure on the benchmark index.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings also fell 3.16 per cent to N156.10, while PZ Cussons Nigeria declined 3.75 per cent to N77.00.
UAC Nigeria shed 1.82 per cent to close at N166.90.
The banking sector was also hit by widespread losses. Zenith Bank slipped 0.33 per cent to N122.20, Access Holdings dropped 0.92 per cent to N26.80, UBA declined 0.77 per cent to N45.15, while Wema Bank fell 2.36 per cent to N28.90.
NEM Insurance was another major casualty, plunging 8.83 per cent to N30.45.
Dangote Sugar, NAHCO defy market sell-off
Despite the broad weakness, a number of stocks recorded significant gains.
Dangote Sugar Refinery emerged as one of the strongest performers among major stocks, advancing 8.60 per cent to N70.10 from N64.55.
NAHCO also posted a strong performance, rising 7.29 per cent to N150.20, representing a N10.20 increase per share.
Fidelity Bank gained 2.33 per cent to N22.00, while Oando edged up 0.28 per cent to N35.20.
Among the session’s top gainers, Trans-Nationwide Express surged 9.86 per cent to N3.12, AVA Capital rose 9.72 per cent to N7.90, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria gained 9.09 per cent to N3.00, while Legend Internet advanced 8.75 per cent to N4.35.
RT Briscoe tops losers
At the other end of the market, RT Briscoe recorded the biggest decline, falling 9.91 per cent from N11.60 to N10.45.
Fortis Global Insurance dropped 9.89 per cent to N2.37, McNichols Plc declined 9.62 per cent to N4.70, while UPL Plc lost 9.35 per cent to close at N4.85.
NEM Insurance completed the list of major decliners with an 8.83 per cent fall.
Insurance stocks suffer biggest sectoral blow
The insurance sector bore the heaviest pressure among the major sectoral indices.
The NGX Insurance Index fell by 1.48 per cent to 1,112.05 points from 1,128.74 points.
The Banking Index also declined by 0.46 per cent to 2,536.29 points, reflecting continued weakness across financial stocks.
Consumer stocks, however, bucked the broader trend.
The NGX Consumer Goods Index rose 0.43 per cent to 4,055.29 points, supported largely by the strong performance of Dangote Sugar.
The Oil & Gas Index edged higher by 0.01 per cent to 5,202.26 points, while the Industrial Goods and Commodity indices were broadly flat.
Investors watch for a market turnaround
With the NGX now recording five consecutive sessions of losses, investor attention is likely to turn to whether the market can stabilise in the coming sessions.
The sustained weakness in banking and insurance counters, combined with negative market breadth, points to continued caution among investors.
However, strong performances from selected mid-cap stocks and consumer counters show that pockets of buying interest remain in the market.
For now, though, the dominant story on the NGX is clear: five straight sessions of losses have erased more than N100 billion in market value, as investors continue to navigate intense selling pressure.
