Nigeria’s equities market began the new trading week on a bearish note on Monday as widespread profit-taking in major blue-chip stocks deepened the recent market correction, pushing the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) down by 1.6 per cent to close at 228,401.92 points.

The latest decline, driven largely by sharp losses in MTN Nigeria, Lafarge Africa (WAPCO), Unilever Nigeria, and First HoldCo, extended the market’s losing streak and further eroded investors’ gains recorded earlier in the year.

Following the day’s performance, the market’s Month-to-Date (MTD) return weakened to negative 8.8 per cent, while the Year-to-Date (YTD) return moderated to 46.8 per cent, reflecting sustained profit-taking after months of strong rallies across several counters.

Market heavyweight MTN Nigeria shed the maximum daily loss of 10 per cent, joining Unilever Nigeria, which also declined by 10 per cent. Lafarge Africa lost 2.3 per cent, while First HoldCo slipped 2.5 per cent, collectively exerting significant downward pressure on the benchmark index.

Despite the bearish sentiment, trading activity surged considerably as investors exchanged 996.47 million shares worth N43.73 billion in 61,813 deals, representing a 156.4 per cent increase in trading volume compared with the previous session.

Ikeja Hotel emerged as the most actively traded stock, accounting for 305.54 million shares valued at N13.21 billion, highlighting renewed institutional interest in selected counters despite the broader market weakness.

The sell-off cut across all the major sectoral indices, underscoring the breadth of the market decline.

The Insurance Index recorded the steepest sectoral loss, falling 1.3 per cent, followed by the Banking Index, which declined by 1.2 per cent. The Consumer Goods Index lost 0.6 per cent, while the Industrial Goods Index fell 0.4 per cent. The Oil and Gas Index also closed marginally lower by 0.1 per cent.

Investor sentiment remained overwhelmingly negative, with market breadth closing at 0.3 times after only 12 stocks recorded gains against 45 decliners.

Learn Africa and MTN Nigeria topped the losers’ chart after both stocks declined by the maximum allowable 10 per cent. On the positive side, UPDC appreciated by 9.2 per cent to lead the gainers, while Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced 4.1 per cent.

Market analysts attributed the latest decline to continued profit-taking in fundamentally strong stocks following the market’s exceptional performance in the first half of the year. They noted that investors are increasingly locking in gains amid concerns over stretched valuations and ahead of the release of half-year corporate earnings.

However, bargain hunting is expected to emerge in fundamentally sound counters should prices continue to moderate, although near-term market direction is likely to remain influenced by institutional portfolio rebalancing and investors’ positioning for second-quarter and half-year earnings releases.

 

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