NGX bloodbath: Investors lose N2.35 trillion as MTN, Unilever hit daily floor

Nigeria’s equities market suffered another heavy blow on Monday with the benchmark NGX All-Share Index plunging 1.57% to close at 228,401.92 points after MTN, Unilever, and Learn Africa hit the maximum -10% daily downside limit simultaneously.

Investors lost approximately N2.35 trillion in a single session as the Market Capitalisation closed at N146.56 trillion, down from N148.91 trillion last Friday, June 26.

Consequently, the year-to-date return slid further to 46.78%, its lowest level since June, 2026.

The session extended the market’s brutal correction phase. The NGX benchmark has now shed more than 24,000 points from its May all-time high of 252,508 points. Cumulative losses from peak now exceed N13 trillion.

What the data is saying:

Selling dominated proceedings from the opening bell. Forty-seven stocks declined against just 13 gainers. Highlights of Monday’s trading:

• All-Share Index: 228,401.92 points, down 1.57%
• Market Capitalisation: N146.56 trillion, down approximately N2.35 trillion
• Volume Traded: 1.06 billion shares, up 171.61%
• Value Traded: N44.60 billion, up 142.01%
• Deals: 62,552 transactions, up 40.15%
• Year-to-Date Return: 46.78%
• Market Breadth: 13 gainers vs 47 losers

Top 5 Gainers:

• UPDC — up 9.23% to N3.55
• CNIF — up 5.45% to N116.00
• Sovereign Trust Insurance — up 4.08% to N2.04
• Cornerstone Insurance — up 3.45% to N6.00
• Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals — up 3.03% to N8.50

Top 5 Losers:

• Learn Africa — down 10% to N9.00
• MTN Nigeria — down 10% to N747.00
• Unilever Nigeria — down 10% to N126.00
• Austin Laz & Company — down 9.94% to N3.17
• Abbey Mortgage Bank — down 9.94% to N7.25

Top stocks by volume:

• Ikeja Hotel — 305.54 million shares valued at N13.21 billion
• Access Holdings — 290.03 million shares valued at N6.63 billion
• Sterling Financial Holdings — 33.33 million shares valued at N254.57 million
• Chams Holding Company — 30.67 million shares valued at N124.28 million
• Dangote Sugar Refinery — 29.40 million shares valued at N1.89 billion

More insights:

The selling was broad and indiscriminate. Only a handful of counters escaped the brokers’ long knives. MTN Nigeria’s 10% maximum daily decline was the session’s most consequential single-stock move.

The stock shed N83.00 to close at N747.00. MTN is one of the NGX’s most capitalisation-heavy names. Its decline alone inflicted significant damage on the benchmark index.

Unilever Nigeria also hit the 10% daily floor. It closed at N126.00, shedding N14.00 per share. Learn Africa fell to N9.00, losing N1.00 — also a maximum daily decline.

FUGAZ banks add further weight to broad selloff

• GTCO lost 0.70% to N127.00.
• First HoldCo declined 2.48% to N59.00.
• Access Holdings eased 0.22% to N22.90.
• UBA shed 0.88% to N39.50.
• Zenith Bank slipped 1.26% to N113.50.
• Similarly, Wema Bank declined 7.41% to N25.00. When these banking names fall simultaneously, the market finds little structural support.

Other major drags:

Apart from the above counters, other consequential decliners that further exacerbated market rout were:

• Cadbury Nigeria fell 9.82% to N56.00.
• eTranzact dropped 9.83% to N13.30.
• Caverton shed 9.71% to N4.65.
• Trans-Nationwide Express declined 9.76% to N2.96.
• FCMB lost 3.52% to N9.60.
• NGX Group fell 4.17% to N115.00.
• Dangote Sugar shed 4.93% to N64.65.
• WAPCO declined 2.33% to N310.00.
• Oando eased 1.24% to N39.90.
• Zichis Agro Allied fell 3.01% to N24.20.
• RT Briscoe lost 6.36% to N11.05.

Volume and value:

Trading activity surged sharply despite the bearish close. Volume soared 171.61% to 1.06 billion shares.

• Value traded jumped 142.01% to N44.60 billion.

Deal count rose 40.15% to 62,552 transactions. This spike suggests institutional repositioning rather than orderly exit.

• Ikeja Hotel dominated both volume and value charts.

It traded 305.54 million shares worth N13.21 billion in a single-stock block trade of exceptional scale.

• Access Holdings followed with 290.03 million shares worth N6.63 billion.

Together Ikeja Hotel and Access Holdings accounted for the bulk of the day’s elevated turnover.

On the gainers’ side, UPDC bounced +9.23% to N3.55 — partially recovering from its recent 52-week low. Sovereign Trust Insurance rose +4.08% to N2.04.

• Cornerstone Insurance advanced +3.45% to N6.00. These were isolated moves. They carried insufficient weight to offset broader losses.

What you should know:

Monday’s 1.57% decline is the second largest single-day loss after June 24 when the market recorded N3.64 trillion losses, deepening the series of lingering market correction that began after the ASI touched 252,508 points in May 2026.

• The index has now shed more than 24,100 points — approximately 9.6% — from that all-time high.
• The year-to-date return of 46.78% is the lowest recorded since after the market surpassed 50% for the first time in late April 2026.
• The market has shed more than 13 percentage points of YTD return in under six weeks.
• Market capitalisation at N146.56 trillion has fallen far below more than N160 trillion at the May peak.

However, the surge in trading volume — up 171.61% — is notable suggesting that institutional investors are actively repositioning rather than simply watching from the sidelines.

Ikeja Hotel’s 305.54 million shares traded in a single session is an unusually large volume for the counter. It points to significant block activity that warrants close monitoring in subsequent sessions.

MTN Nigeria’s 10% decline is particularly significant. The stock is one of the NGX’s largest by market capitalisation. Its correction has now brought it to N747.00 from levels above N830.00 in recent sessions. (Nairametrics)