Investors on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) lost about ₦206 billion in market value during the trading week ended Friday, 23 October 2026, as the equities market extended its losing streak to a fourth consecutive week.
The All Share Index (ASI) fell 0.13 percent week on week, losing 317.46 points to close at 247,222.27 points, compared with 247,539.73 points recorded the previous Friday.
Equity market capitalisation also fell to ₦160.519 trillion, while year to date returns dropped to 58.87 percent.
Despite the weekly decline, trading activity picked up. Investors traded 2.024 billion shares worth ₦110.773 billion in 173,113 deals, compared with 1.659 billion shares valued at ₦98.088 billion in 184,632 deals in the previous week.
Trading volume increased by about 22 percent, while value rose by roughly 13 percent. Market breadth also weakened during the week. Only 20 equities recorded gains, a sharp drop from the 50 gainers recorded in the previous week. Meanwhile, 55 stocks declined, up from 30 previously, while 71 stocks closed unchanged. This left decliners well ahead of advancers.
The Financial Services industry remained the most active part of the market, accounting for 1.111 billion shares valued at ₦53.908 billion. This represented 54.89 percent of total equity turnover volume and 48.66 percent of value. Consumer Goods followed with 394.039 million shares worth ₦9.811 billion, while Agriculture ranked third with 147.170 million shares valued at ₦2.821 billion.
Multitrex Integrated Foods, Zenith Bank and Livestock Feeds were among the most actively traded stocks by volume. Sector performance was mixed during the week. The NGX Industrial Goods Index led the gainers, rising 1.95 percent. The Premium Index gained 0.80 percent, while the Consumer Goods, Growth and Pension Broad indices also recorded modest gains. On the other hand, the Insurance Index posted the biggest decline, falling 2.79 percent, followed by the Oil & Gas Index, which dropped 2.55 percent. The Banking Index also declined by 0.67 percent.
Among individual stocks, ABC Transport Plc led the weekly gainers, rising 20.66 percent to ₦7.30. AVA Capital and Caverton Offshore Support Group also ranked among the top performers.
On the losing side, UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust recorded the biggest decline, falling by 17.26 percent to ₦17.50. Omatek Ventures, University Press and Regency Alliance Insurance were also among the major decliners.
The four week losing streak came with progressively smaller losses, following earlier weekly declines of about 0.52 percent, 0.97 percent and 0.33 percent. A strong rebound on Friday helped limit the overall weekly decline after the market fell to 244,956.94 points on Thursday. Analysis shows that although liquidity improved, the market will need broader buying interest beyond a handful of large cap stocks to reverse the recent corrective phase following the market’s strong year to date rally.