Nigerian stock market posts first weekly loss of 2026 as investors engage in profit-taking, with selective gains in some equities

The Nigerian stock market recorded its first weekly decline of the year last week as intensified profit-taking and subdued investor sentiment weighed on equities.

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The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (ASI) closed at 165,512.18 points, down 0.37 per cent from 166,129.50 points the previous week.

Market capitalisation fell by N395 billion, closing at N105.959 trillion from N106.354 trillion, reflecting cautious trading across key sectors.

The NGX Consumer Goods index led declines with a two per cent drop, while the NGX Banking index fell 1.3 per cent.

NGX Industrial Goods and Insurance indices both declined by 0.1 per cent, while the NGX Oil & Gas index bucked the trend, rising 1.4 per cent.

Despite the overall decline, market breadth remained moderately positive as 57 advancing stocks outnumbered 40 decliners.

DEAP Capital Management & Trust led the gainers with a 60.09 per cent increase to N7.14 per share, followed by SCOA Nigeria, up 59.73 per cent to N23.80, and NCR Nigeria, which rose 46.36 per cent to N188.15 per share.

Eterna led the decliners table with an 11.92 per cent loss to N28.45 per share, while Secure Electronic Technology fell 10.19 per cent and Industrial & Medical Gases Nigeria declined 9.95 per cent.

A total of 3.748 billion shares worth N99.865 billion were traded in 237,179 deals, down from 4.607 billion shares valued at N130.636 billion the previous week.

The Financial Services sector accounted for the highest activity, trading 1.742 billion shares worth N44.893 billion, representing 46.49 per cent of total volume and 44.95 per cent of value.

The Services and ICT sectors followed with 707.617 million shares (N4.379 billion) and 303.216 million shares (N5.932 billion), respectively.

Top equities, including Secure Electronic Technology, Tantalizers, and Access Holdings, contributed 734.086 million shares worth N5.720 billion, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of total equity turnover.

Looking ahead, analysts expect the Nigerian stock market to remain range-bound in the near term.

Cowry Assets Management Limited noted that ongoing profit-taking and cautious investor sentiment may moderate gains, but the market’s year-to-date return of 6.36 per cent could contain downside risks for fundamentally strong and dividend-paying stocks.

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Futureview Group recommended a focus on stocks with attractive valuations, while Cordros Research highlighted potential choppy trading as investors digest 2025FY earnings releases.