Equities Down N211bn as Most Sectors Bleed; Industrial Goods Holds Firm

A broad-based retreat across the insurance, oil and gas, and banking sectors dragged Nigerian equities into negative territory for the fourth consecutive week, even as a resilient showing by industrial heavyweights and late-session bargain hunting spared the market steeper erosion.

Trading metrics for the week ended October 23, 2026, show that the benchmark Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 317.46 basis points or 0.13 per cent to close at 247,222.27 points, down from 247,539.73 recorded the previous week.

In tandem, aggregate market capitalisation of quoted equities depreciated by N210.89 billion to close the five-day trading cycle at N160.519 trillion, moderating the market’s year-to-date yield to 58.87 per cent.

The moderate weekly decline, however, concealed sharp intramonth volatility. The bourse had touched a mid-week low of 244,956.94 points on Thursday before aggressive buying momentum on Friday triggered a late-hour 0.92 per cent rally, injecting roughly N1.47 trillion back into the market to lift total capitalization above the N160 trillion threshold.

Sectoral Scorecard: Industry Shines as Key Indices Weaken

A granular dissection of sectoral indices reveals that four of the five core tracking gauges closed underwater, reflecting investor rotation out of interest-rate-sensitive and cyclical equities:

• Industrial Goods Index (+1.95%): Emerged as the sole oasis of growth among the core sectors, advancing to 10,646.68 points to push its year-to-date return to 87.56 per cent on the back of resilient institutional appetite.

• Insurance Index (-2.79%): Underperformed the broader market, dropping to 1,049.43 points and extending its cumulative year-to-date contraction to 11.76 per cent.

• Oil & Gas Index (-2.55%): Slipped to 6,035.77 points as profit-taking in upstream counters halted the prior week’s 3.13 per cent advance, though the sub-sector continues to lead the exchange on a year-to-date basis at 126.04 per cent.

• Banking Index (-0.67%): Retreated to 2,515.47 points, widening its month-to-date deficit to 7.25 per cent as tier-one lenders faced mild selling pressure, despite standalone rallies in counters like Fidelity Bank and FBN Holdings.

• Consumer Goods Index (-0.55%): Dipped to 4,014.81 points, constrained by margin contractions and price adjustments across major brewers and conglomerates.

• Commodity Index (-1.78%): Softened to 1,902.87 points amid muted trade turnover.

Top Gainers and Losers

Market breadth deteriorated sharply, tilting in favor of the bears with 55 equities recording price depreciations against 20 advancers, compared to 50 gainers and 30 decliners in the preceding week. Seventy-one equities closed flat.

On the gainers’ chart, logistics firm Associated Bus Company (ABC Transport) Plc led from the front, appreciating 20.66 per cent to close at N7.30 per share. AVA Capital Partners followed with a 17.74 per cent rise to N7.30, while Caverton Offshore Support Group gained 17.07 per cent to settle at N4.80. Tier-two lender Fidelity Bank Plc bucked the sector’s decline, climbing 14.01 per cent to finish at N24.00, while Multi-Trex Integrated Foods gained 10.00 per cent to N0.66.

Other notable gainers included LivingTrust Mortgage Bank (+9.90% to N3.22), Meyer Plc (+9.72% to N17.50), Critical Minerals Financing Corp (+7.85% to N3.57), Thomas Wyatt Nigeria (+7.44% to N2.60), and NASCON Allied Industries (+7.31% to N183.50).

Conversely, UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust (UPDC REIT) led the losers’ table, tumbling 17.26 per cent to close at N17.50. Omatek Ventures dropped 12.50 per cent to N1.40, while University Press Plc surrendered 12.12 per cent to finish at N4.35. Regency Alliance Insurance shed 11.25 per cent to N0.71, and Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) Plc dipped 10.29 per cent to N152.50.

Agribusiness player Livestock Feeds fell 10.26 per cent to N17.05, while Vitafoam Nigeria lost 10.00 per cent to N174.60. CWG (-9.98%), International Breweries (-9.50%), and Tripple Gee & Company (-8.74%) rounded out the top decliners.

In absolute nominal terms, high-capitalised energy entity Aradel Holdings Plc recorded the steepest per-share decline on the bourse, shedding N94.90 or 6.33 per cent to settle at N1,405.00, down from its prior-week level of N1,499.90. Other significant per-share nominal drops included Vitafoam (-N19.40), NGX Group (-N17.50), Custodian Investment (-N5.30), Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (-N4.40), UAC of Nigeria (-N3.00), and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (-N2.80).

Liquidity and Trading Activity

Despite the index contraction, aggregate trading activity rose. Total turnover expanded by 22 per cent in volume and roughly 13 per cent in value, as investors exchanged 2.024 billion shares worth N110.773 billion across 173,113 transactions, compared to 1.659 billion units valued at N98.088 billion traded in 184,632 deals the prior week.

The Financial Services Industry remained the primary liquidity driver, recording 1.111 billion shares valued at N53.908 billion in 81,787 deals, accounting for 54.89 per cent of total volume and 48.66 per cent of total market turnover.

The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 394.039 million shares worth N9.811 billion, while the Agriculture Industry recorded 147.170 million shares valued at N2.821 billion.

The three most active counters by volume—Multi-Trex Integrated Foods, Zenith Bank Plc, and Livestock Feeds Plc—jointly accounted for 521.565 million shares worth N19.093 billion in 16,487 deals, representing 25.76 per cent of aggregate market volume.

Market watchers attribute the narrowing weekly losses (-0.52%, -0.97%, -0.33%, and -0.13% over the past four weeks) to value re-entry by institutional investors positioning ahead of full third-quarter corporate earnings releases.