Market News

By Jide Ajia

Late-week sell-offs in heavyweight industrial and insurance stocks dragged the Nigerian Exchange lower by 0.25 per cent, wiping billions off investors’ portfolios despite gains in banking and oil equities, while overall market turnover and trading activity weakened sharply during the five-day trading period, JIDE AJIA reports

Heavyweight financial and manufacturing stocks dragged the Nigerian Exchange Limited down by 0.25 per cent last week, offsetting minor gains recorded across the banking and oil sectors. The benchmark NGX All-Share Index closed the week ended 22 May 2026 lower at 249,712.37 points, down from the 250,330.92 points recorded the previous week.

Similarly, the total market capitalisation of listed equities depreciated 0.23 per cent to close the five-day trading window at N160.077tn, representing a loss of billions of naira for equity portfolios. This downward movement was heavily driven by structural weakness in the manufacturing and retail protection segments, as the NGX Industrial Goods Index dropped 1.24 per cent to close at 12,252.18 points, while the NGX Insurance Index led the broader sectoral contraction by shedding 1.77 per cent to finish at 1,245.52 points.

Conversely, the banking sector provided a resilient counterweight to the bearish momentum, with the NGX Banking Index advancing 1.11 per cent to close the five-day trading window at 2,416.78 points.

Turnover volume plunges

Market liquidity experienced a sharp contraction compared to the preceding trading window. A total turnover of 3.875 billion shares worth N161.76bn was traded by investors in 334,745 deals. This stood in contrast to a total of 7.772 billion shares valued at N374.04bn that exchanged hands the previous week in 402,945 deals, indicating an asset-turnover contraction of approximately 50 per cent.

The Financial Services Industry maintained its dominance on the activity chart. Measured by volume, the sector led with 2.410 billion shares valued at N69.71bn traded in 126,919 deals. The banking sector’s activity alone contributed 62.19 per cent and 43.10 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively. The Services Industry followed on the activity scale with 409.31 million shares worth N5.41bn in 25,908 deals, while the Oil and Gas Industry took third place with a turnover of 294.86 million shares worth N31.50bn in 26,738 deals.

Trading in the top three equities, including Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and Access Holdings Plc, accounted for 1.092 billion shares worth N19.53bn in 21,683 deals, contributing 28.18 per cent to the total weekly equity turnover volume.

Gainers and decliners

Despite the broader market slide, several equities bucked the bearish trend. Associated Bus Company Plc led the price gainers chart with a 44.82 per cent appreciation to close at N9.08 per share. Publishing counters also witnessed strong demand, with Academy Press Plc jumping 29.79 per cent to close at N9.15 and University Press Plc gaining 28.00 per cent to settle at N6.40 per share. Other notable gainers included International Energy Insurance Plc, which climbed 22.22 per cent to close at N3.41.

Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc topped the price decliners table, shedding 22.45 per cent of its value to close at N2.28 per share. Logistics operator Trans-Nationwide Express Plc dropped 18.98 per cent to settle at N5.72, while manufacturing major CAP Plc fell 14.85 per cent to close at N199.00 per share. Berger Paints Plc also declined 12.64 per cent to close at N147.60.

While the benchmark index finished lower, select components, like the NGX Banking Index (+1.11 per cent) and the NGX Oil/Gas Index (+0.07 per cent), managed resilient postings, signalling highly selective asset allocation by local institutional funds.

Sovereign debt expansion

The fixed-income segment recorded significant regulatory activity as the Federal Government listed its April 2026 FGN Savings Bonds on the daily official list on Monday, 18 May. The listings comprised N864.96m under the two-year tenor maturing in 2028 with a 13.082 per cent coupon and N2.77bn under the three-year tenor maturing in 2029 with a 14.082 per cent coupon rate.

Concurrently, the equity capital of the Exchange expanded following the listing of 882.06 million additional ordinary shares of Eterna Plc on Wednesday, 20 May. The additional shares arose from the oil marketer’s recent Rights Issue of 978.11 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N22.00 per share, which achieved a 90.18 per cent subscription rate. With this listing, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Eterna Plc has expanded from 1.30 billion to 2.19 billion ordinary shares, adding much-needed volume depth to the energy segment of the local bourse.