Trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) ended bearish last week, with investors transacting 8.564 billion shares worth ₦99.94 billion in 177,870 deals. This was lower than the 8.736 billion shares valued at ₦134.58 billion exchanged in 180,290 deals the previous week.
The downturn dragged the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) down by 0.77% to close at 144,628.20 points, while market capitalisation slipped to ₦91.50 trillion.
Sectoral performance was mixed as the NGX Insurance Index advanced by 8.21%, the NGX AFR Dividend Yield Index rose by 1.57%, and the NGX Growth Index gained 9.50%. All other major indices closed negative.
The Financial Services sector dominated activity, contributing 80.75% and 56.75% of total equity turnover volume and value, respectively, with 6.916 billion shares worth ₦56.72 billion traded in 84,589 deals. Oil & Gas followed with 387.65 million shares valued at ₦8.50 billion, while Agriculture recorded 315.54 million shares worth ₦6.02 billion.
Universal Insurance Plc, Linkage Assurance Plc, and AIICO Insurance Plc drove market activity, jointly accounting for 2.787 billion shares valued at ₦6.62 billion in 11,067 deals—about 32.54% of total turnover volume.
Market breadth closed negative, with 50 gainers against 49 losers, compared with 66 gainers and 41 losers in the prior week. Analysts attributed the weaker turnover and index decline to cautious investor sentiment, noting that rotation into insurance and growth stocks provided some support.
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