The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed Thursday’s session sharply lower, as heavy sell-offs in select mid- and large-cap stocks erased ₦357 billion from the market’s valuation.
The NGX All-Share Index shed 39 basis points to settle at 145,300.01 points, pulling other key market indicators into negative territory. Market analysts linked the downturn to intensified selling, particularly in insurance and banking equities. As a result, the year-to-date return eased to 41.17%—still well above the prevailing inflation rate.
Insurance stocks led the rout, with notable losses in Wema Bank, AXA Mansard Insurance, AIICO Insurance, NGX Group, Custodian Insurance, Dangote Sugar, Cadbury Nigeria, NEM Insurance, and United Capital Plc. Declines also hit Sterling Financial Holdings, Transcorp, FCMB, Oando, Zenith Bank, and GTCO.
Data from the exchange revealed that 50 stocks closed in the red, with the insurance sector posting the steepest drop among major indices. The NGX market index slid by 498.45 basis points to 145,367.03 points.
Despite the broad decline, trading activity surged—volume jumped 81.71% while value increased 7.69%. Figures from Atlass Portfolio Limited showed that 1.44 billion units worth ₦21.77 billion were traded across 43,164 deals.
UNIVINSURE topped the volume chart, accounting for 15.91% of total trades, followed by AIICO (9.64%), LINKASSURE (8.73%), MBENEFIT (6.42%), and REGALINS (4.48%). In value terms, Nigerian Breweries (NB) led with 8.41% of total turnover.
On the gainers’ table, JULI rose 10%, trailed by AUSTINLAZ (+9.91%), NCR (+9.43%), THOMASWY (+8.19%), CHAMS (+8.06%), and RTBRISCOE (+5.88%).
Overall market breadth remained firmly negative, with 22 gainers against 50 losers. Sector performance was mostly bearish, as Banking (-0.48%), Insurance (-8.26%), Consumer Goods (-0.20%), and Oil & Gas (-0.11%) indices all declined. The Industrial Goods index edged up 0.11%, while the Commodity sector was unchanged.
Market capitalisation closed at ₦91.93 trillion, reflecting the day’s ₦357 billion loss.
