The Nigerian equities market ended its two-day rally on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) recorded a 0.50% decline. The index closed at 245,418.37 points, down from 246,659.56 points recorded on Tuesday.
This downturn resulted in a significant loss of approximately N800.70 billion in investor value, with market capitalisation dropping to N158.32 trillion from N159.12 trillion.
Market Performance Drivers
The session's losses were predominantly driven by substantial declines in major consumer goods companies. Nestlé Nigeria experienced a maximum 10% drop, closing at N2,812.50, while BUA Foods also fell by 10% to N845.10.
Further extending the sector's woes, UAC Nigeria (UACN) declined by 7.75% to N184.45. Other significant losers included Mecure Industries, which fell 9.94% to N69.30, and International Energy Insurance (INTENEGINS), down 9.84% to N4.40.
Additional losses were recorded in Guinness Nigeria (-2.35% to N332), Stanbic IBTC Holdings (-2.34% to N163), NAHCO (-1.22% to N170), and Transcorp (-0.36% to N41.40). These outweighed gains in other market segments.
Gains and Supporting Stocks
Conversely, several stocks provided support to the market. Cadbury Nigeria and Unilever Nigeria both hit their 10% daily rise limits, closing higher at N62.70 and N137.50 respectively. NASCON Allied Industries added 8.89% to close at N196.00, and PZ Cussons Nigeria rose 6.19% to N84.95.
Banking stocks also contributed positively, with First HoldCo rising 4.76% to N110.00 and Zenith Bank gaining 2.72% to N121.00. Access Holdings added 2.12% to close at N26.55, while GTCO edged up 0.08% to N129.10. MTN Nigeria also rose 1.92% to N850.
Closing Market Statistics
The overall market statistics for Wednesday, July 22, 2026, showed mixed performance. Total deals decreased by 5.20% to 47,458 from 50,059, but trading volume increased by 34.34% to 1.25 billion shares from 932.45 million. Market value or turnover saw a substantial increase of 139.80% to N118.18 billion from N49.28 billion. Year-to-date performance for the ASI stood at +57.71%, with market capitalization up +59.31%.
Sectoral Performance
Sector performance was varied. The NGX Consumer Goods Index experienced the steepest decline, falling 5.04% to 4,469.32 points from 4,706.62 points, as losses in Nestlé, BUA Foods, and UACN overshadowed gains in Cadbury, Unilever, and NASCON.
In contrast, the NGX Banking Index gained 1.51% to close at 2,458.85 points from 2,422.31 points, and the NGX Insurance Index rose 1.64% to 1,163.10 points from 1,144.34 points. The NGX Industrial Index also advanced by 0.81% to 10,413.93 points. The NGX Oil/Gas Index eased marginally to 5,255.17 points from 5,255.33 points, while the NGX Commodity Index closed unchanged at 1,781.26 points. The NGX Growth Index recorded a significant tumble of 7.99% to 33,872.11 points from 36,815.02 points.
This pullback concludes a two-session winning streak for the index. The sharp divergence within the consumer goods sector, with some stocks rallying while others tumbled, highlights the impact of single-stock swings among heavyweight names on broader market indices.
