The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed lower on Wednesday, October 1, 2026, as the All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 701.53 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 251,211.67 points from the 251,913.20 points recorded in the previous session. This decline wiped N426 billion from market capitalisation, reducing it to N163.105 trillion from N163.531 trillion.
Insurance and Banking Sectors Lead Market Decline
The NGX Insurance Index recorded the steepest fall among sector indices, declining by 1.01%. The Banking Index followed with a 0.58% drop, reflecting pressure on financial stocks. In contrast, the Industrial Goods Index gained 0.66%, while the Consumer Goods and Energy indices each rose by 0.04%.
Market breadth was negative, with 28 losers against 25 gainers, indicating weak investor sentiment. Among the top losers, Learn Africa fell by 10.00% to N7.65, while Thomas Wyatt declined by 9.80% to N2.67. Sovereign Trust Insurance dropped by 6.78% to N2.20, Guinea Insurance fell by 6.67% to 70 kobo, and Fidelity Bank decreased by 0.07% to N7.12.
Top Gainers and Most Active Stocks on NGX
On the gainers side, Haldane McCall rose by 10.00% to N3.41, CMFC gained 9.92% to N4.32, and Cornerstone Insurance increased by 9.80% to N5.60. Livingtrust Mortgage Bank advanced by 9.79% to N3.14, while ABC Transport gained 9.76% to N6.75.
A total of 1.0 billion shares worth N53.6 billion were exchanged in 44,469 deals. VFD Group led trading with 367.3 million shares valued at N4.9 billion, followed by UAC Nigeria with 158.2 million shares worth N21.5 billion. Abbey Bank exchanged 72.4 million shares valued at N507.1 million, Chams traded 63.9 million shares worth N199.8 million, and GTCO recorded 39.6 million shares valued at N5.3 billion.
Trading Activity Surges Despite Market Decline
According to the report, trading volume and value increased by 82.85% and 56.27%, respectively, compared with Tuesday, while the number of deals declined by 5.99%. This surge in activity occurred even as the market closed lower, highlighting mixed investor behaviour.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that investors seeking to participate in the Dangote Refinery initial public offering (IPO) can purchase shares through a wide range of approved financial intermediaries, including banks, stockbrokers, fintech platforms and investment applications. The platforms are part of the financial intermediary network designated to facilitate subscriptions to the offer, giving investors multiple channels through which they can submit applications. Available options include the NGX Invest Portal, several commercial banks, investment firms and digital investment platforms.
