Nigerian equities extended their losing streak to a fourth consecutive week as profit-taking and widespread sell-offs in banking, insurance and oil and gas stocks outweighed gains in industrial goods shares.
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index fell by 317.46 points, or 0.13 per cent, to close at 247,222.27 points in the week ended October 23, 2026, from 247,539.73 points recorded in the previous week.
The decline reduced equity market capitalisation by about ₦206 billion to ₦160.519 trillion, from ₦160.725 trillion a week earlier.
Market breadth weakened during the week, with 55 stocks closing lower against 20 gainers, while 71 equities ended unchanged. In the preceding week, 50 stocks gained while 30 declined, indicating that selling pressure spread across more listed companies.
The Insurance Index fell by 2.79 per cent, while the Oil and Gas Index declined by 2.55 per cent. The Industrial Goods Index bucked the broader market trend, gaining 1.95 per cent during the period.
Trading activity increased despite the decline in share prices, with investors exchanging 2.024 billion shares valued at ₦110.773 billion in 173,113 deals. This compared with 1.659 billion shares worth ₦98.088 billion in 184,632 deals in the previous week.
The volume of shares traded rose by about 22 per cent, while transaction value increased by nearly 13 per cent. However, the number of deals fell, suggesting that the higher turnover did not translate into an increase in the frequency of transactions.
The Financial Services sector dominated activity, accounting for 54.8 per cent of total trading volume during the week.
Among individual stocks, ABC Transport led the gainers, advancing 20.66 per cent to close at ₦7.30 per share. Ava Capital and Caverton Offshore Support Group followed, with both stocks gaining 17.74 per cent.
UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust recorded the steepest decline, falling 17.26 per cent to close at ₦17.50 per share. Omatek Ventures, University Press, Regency Alliance Insurance and NGX Group also recorded double-digit losses.
Despite the four-week decline, the All-Share Index remains up 58.87 per cent year-to-date, indicating that the market has retained a substantial portion of its gains from the rally earlier in 2026.
The recent losses suggest that investors are becoming more cautious after the strong market performance, with profit-taking weighing on share prices across several sectors. However, the continued weakness in market breadth shows that the pressure extends beyond a small group of stocks.
Investors will be watching whether buying interest broadens across sectors in the coming weeks, particularly in banking, insurance and oil and gas stocks, to determine whether the market can regain upward momentum.
