By Boluwatife Oshadiya | March 5, 2026
Key Points
- Nigerian Exchange market capitalisation dropped by about ₦102 billion after selloffs in major stocks
- Dangote Sugar and Jaiz Bank fell the maximum 10 percent, leading the day’s losers
- Market breadth weakened with 36 declining stocks compared with 22 gainers
Main Story
Nigeria’s equities market closed lower on Wednesday as heavy selloffs in Dangote Sugar Refinery, Jaiz Bank, and other decliners erased roughly ₦102 billion from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation.
At the end of trading, the All-Share Index (ASI) slipped 0.08 percent to 196,463.22 points, while total market capitalisation settled at ₦126.1 trillion, reflecting the day’s negative sentiment among investors.
Market data showed that declines in Dangote Sugar Refinery (-10.00%), Jaiz Bank (-10.00%), Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (-4.46%), and International Breweries (-1.64%) outweighed gains recorded in stocks such as MTN Nigeria (+1.28%) and UAC of Nigeria (+7.78%).
Investor sentiment also weakened across the broader market. Market breadth closed at 0.61x, with 36 stocks recording losses compared with 22 gainers.
Among the day’s top performers were Premier Paints (+10.00%), FTN Cocoa Processors (+9.73%), and UACN (+7.78%), while Dangote Sugar, Jaiz Bank, and Chemical and Allied Products (-9.97%) emerged as the worst-performing equities.
Trading activity also slowed during the session. Total trading volume declined by 8.5 percent to 805.3 million shares, while total transaction value fell 13.7 percent to ₦38.4 billion.
On the activity charts, Veritas Kapital Assurance led by volume, accounting for 56.4 million shares traded, equivalent to about 7 percent of total market turnover. Meanwhile, MTN Nigeria topped the value chart with transactions worth ₦7.1 billion, representing 18.4 percent of the day’s trading value.
Sectoral performance remained largely bearish. The Consumer Goods Index dropped 0.86 percent, largely due to the sharp selloff in Dangote Sugar following the release of its audited financial statements. The Banking Index declined 0.45 percent, while the Industrial Goods and Oil & Gas indices both slipped 0.03 percent.
The Insurance Index was the only sectoral gainer, rising 0.33 percent on renewed interest in NEM Insurance (+2.10%), while the Commodity Index closed flat.
What’s Being Said
“The market downturn reflects profit-taking and investor reaction to recent corporate earnings, particularly in consumer goods,” stockbrokers at a Lagos-based brokerage said in a market note reviewed by BizWatch Nigeria.
An independent market analyst added that large-cap stocks remain the main drivers of daily volatility on the NGX, especially when earnings releases trigger sharp trading activity.
What’s Next
- Investors are expected to continue reacting to recently released corporate earnings across several listed companies
- Market participants will monitor institutional portfolio adjustments ahead of upcoming dividend announcements
- Analysts expect volatility in consumer goods stocks following earnings releases and valuation adjustments
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