By Boluwatife Oshadiya, 28th April 2026
Key Points
- NGX All-Share Index declines 0.94% amid shift to risk-off sentiment
- Market capitalisation sheds ₦1.37 trillion
- Banking stocks lead losers as breadth turns negative
- Analysts link downturn to profit-taking after extended rally
Main Story
The Nigerian equities market closed in negative territory on Monday, as investors retreated from risk assets, triggering a broad-based sell-off across key counters.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 0.94% to settle at 223,602.29 points. The downturn reduced the year-to-date return to 43.69% and wiped out approximately ₦1.37 trillion in market capitalisation, which closed at ₦143.97 trillion.
Market analysts attributed the decline to sustained profit-taking activities following a prolonged bullish run that pushed several equities into overbought territory, prompting investors to lock in gains.
Market breadth weakened to 0.9x, reflecting a negative sentiment as 40 decliners outweighed 35 advancers. Losses were primarily driven by sell-offs in First Holdco Plc, Transnational Corporation Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Access Holdings Plc, and Fidelity Bank Plc.
On the flip side, buying interest was observed in select tickers including ABBEYBDS, ZICHIS, Wema Bank Plc, NPFMCRFBNK, and Wapic Insurance Plc, as investors positioned ahead of first-quarter 2026 earnings releases.
Sectoral performance remained mixed. Gains were recorded in Industrial (+0.85%), Commodities (+0.63%), and Insurance (+0.15%) indices, while the Banking index declined sharply by 6.49%. The Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas indices also fell by 0.41% and 0.24%, respectively.
Trading activity showed divergence, with volume rising 8.06% to 678.17 million shares and deal count increasing by 49.98% to 82,838 transactions. However, total turnover dipped slightly by 0.85% to ₦44.14 billion.
What’s Being Said
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited stated that the market is likely to maintain a cautious tone in the near term.
“We expect the negative bias to persist in the next trading session as profit-taking continues to weigh on investor sentiment,” the firm noted.
What’s Next
Market participants are expected to monitor corporate earnings releases and macroeconomic signals for direction. Continued profit-taking and sector rotation could sustain volatility in the short term.
