The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a sour note, shedding a massive ₦516 billion in market capitalisation on Friday, 8 August 2025, marking the end of a sustained bullish rally that had boosted investor confidence in recent weeks.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) revealed that the market capitalisation dropped from ₦92.73 trillion on Thursday to ₦92.21 trillion, representing a 0.56% decline. The All-Share Index (ASI) also fell by 815.80 points, closing at 145,754.91 compared to the previous day’s 146,570.71.
Market analysts attributed the downturn to widespread profit-taking, particularly in stocks such as Abbey Mortgage Bank, Custodian Investment Plc, Deap Capital Management, and The Initiates Plc. Despite the losses, the market breadth closed positive, with 42 gainers against 29 losers—indicating selective investor optimism.
Top gainers included:
Champion Breweries – up 10% to ₦14.40
Union Dicon Salt – up 10% to ₦9.90
Universal Insurance – up 10% to ₦1.10
Guinness Nigeria – up 9.99% to ₦155.75
AXA Mansard – up 9.99% to ₦14.64
On the flip side, Abbey Mortgage Bank led the losers with a 9.87% drop to ₦6.30, followed by Custodian Investment Plc (down 8.48% to ₦40.45) and Deap Capital Management (down 7.53% to ₦1.35).
The session saw robust trading with 2.21 billion shares worth ₦32.4 billion exchanged in 35,036 transactions, up from 1.98 billion shares valued at ₦27.3 billion in the previous session.
Top traded stocks were:
Linkage Assurance – 585.6 million shares worth ₦1.17 billion
Universal Insurance – 213.19 million shares worth ₦234.5 million
AIICO Insurance – 178.5 million shares worth ₦618.1 million
Mutual Benefits Assurance – 137.84 million shares worth ₦402.46 million
Sterling Nigeria – 115.27 million shares worth ₦927.4 million
Speaking on the market’s movement, David Adonri, Vice President of Highcap Securities, explained that the earlier bullish run was partly fueled by corporate half-year results and the signing of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 by President Bola Tinubu.
“The signing of the NIIRA shifted investor focus to insurance stocks, driving a temporary surge in demand. However, as is common in equity markets, the momentum eventually eased,” Adonri said, adding that the pullback was a healthy correction rather than a cause for panic.
Market watchers expect trading in the coming week to be influenced by second-half corporate earnings releases, macroeconomic developments, and the stability of the naira. With investor sentiment still relatively optimistic despite the dip, some analysts believe the correction could provide opportunities for bargain hunting in undervalued blue-chip stocks.