Stock market dips 0.52% in holiday-shortened trading week

The Nigerian equities market closed the four-day trading week in negative territory as profit- taking across major sectors dragged main indices lower, while overall trading activity contracted significantly following the public holiday declared on Thursday, 1 October, 2026, in commemoration of Independence Day celebrations.

Market sentiment reflected a broader macroeconomic adjustment following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s major monetary policy reset, where the benchmark interest rate was cut by 350 basis points to 23 per cent alongside cooling headline inflation at 15.39 per cent.

This shift in the interest rate environment has prompted portfolio realignments across fixed income and equity instruments, driving mixed trading behaviours. Overall market breadth on the Exchange closed negative, with 37 equities depreciating against 44 gainers and 65 stocks remaining unchanged.

The NGX All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation depreciated by 0.52 per cent and 0.50 per cent to close the week at 250,808.27 and N162.843tn respectively, down from 252,113.41 points and N163.689tn recorded in the previous week.

Sectoral performance was predominantly bearish, led by declines in the NGX CG Index, which fell 1.43 per cent, the NGX Premium Index down 1.38 per cent, the NGX Banking Index dropping 1.33 per cent, and the NGX Consumer Goods Index falling 0.91 per cent.

The NGX 30 Index also dipped 0.52 per cent to settle at 9,230.30 points. Bucking the market downturn, modest gains were registered in the NGX Growth Index, which rose 1.85 per cent, the NGX Insurance Index gaining 0.61 per cent, the NGX Main Board Index up 0.08 per cent, and the NGX Oil & Gas Index creeping up 0.05 per cent, while the NGX Commodity Index

remained flat. Investors traded a total turnover of 3.166 billion shares worth N155.023bn in

206,662 deals, representing a sharp reduction compared to the 4.689 billion shares valued at

N240.824bn that exchanged hands in 261,198 deals the preceding week.

The Financial Services Industry maintained its dominant lead by volume, accounting for 1.944 billion shares valued at N77.733 billion in 92,035 deals, thereby contributing 61.41 per cent to total equity turnover volume and 50.14 per cent to total value.

The Investment Industry followed in second place with 409.484 million shares worth N5.400bn in 1,444 deals, while the ICT Industry placed third with a turnover of 231.705 million shares worth N9.606bn in 24,133 deals.

The top three equities measured by volume were Fidelity Bank Plc, VFD Group Plc, and Access Holdings Plc, which collectively accounted for 1.343 billion shares worth N27.580bn in 15,771 deals, contributing 42.42 per cent to total volume and 17.79 per cent to total equity turnover value.

Securities, listings

Exchange-Traded Products saw 1.684 million units valued at N379.449m traded in 4,327 deals, compared to 2.660 million units valued at N747.735m in 6,048 deals the previous week. In the

bond segment, 81,063 units worth N85.606m were traded in 48 deals compared to 180,459 units valued at N179.624m in 43 deals prior.

The primary market recorded significant corporate capital-raising activity, including the listing of 3.206 billion rights issue shares for Guinea Insurance Plc, 3.684 billion private placement shares for Regency Alliance Insurance Plc, and 1.110 billion combined rights issue and public offer shares for The Initiates Plc.

Additionally, new and supplementary Federal Government of Nigeria bonds issued in September

2026 were formally admitted to the Exchange’s Daily Official List, led by the 10-year 16.79 per cent FGN SEP 2036 paper valued at N888.633bn.

Source: https://punchng.com/stock-market-dips-0-52-in-holiday-shortened-trading-week/