Financial Services Account for Nearly 90% of NGX Trading Volume

The Financial Services sector reinforced its position as the Nigerian Exchange’s most active segment last week after accounting for almost 90 percent of total trading volume.

According to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) weekly market report for the week ended August 21, 2026, investors traded 5.594 billion shares in the Financial Services sector valued at N56.431 billion across 88,112 deals.

The sector accounted for 89.62 percent of the Exchange’s total trading volume and 35.77 percent of the total value of equities traded during the week.

Overall, investors exchanged 6.242 billion shares worth N157.764 billion in 186,496 deals during the week, underscoring the dominant role financial stocks played in market activity.

The report showed that while trading remained concentrated in financial services, the ICT sector ranked second with 143.70 million shares valued at N29.79 billion traded in 21,541 deals.

The Services sector followed with 138.67 million shares worth N1.75 billion exchanged in 9,308 deals.

The concentration of trading was even more pronounced among individual companies.

Fortis Global Insurance Plc, Lasaco Assurance Plc and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc emerged as the three most actively traded equities by volume, jointly accounting for 4.168 billion shares valued at N9.249 billion in 2,335 deals.

Together, the three companies contributed 66.77 percent of the total market volume and 5.86 percent of the total value traded during the week.

The sustained dominance of financial services trading comes even as the broader market remained under pressure.

During the week, the NGX All-Share Index declined 1.35 percent, while equity market capitalisation fell by more than N2 trillion as investors continued to take profits across several large-cap stocks.

Market analysts say the continued concentration of liquidity in banking and insurance stocks suggests institutional investors remain active in the sector, even as they reduce exposure to selected consumer goods, industrial and oil and gas companies that recorded significant gains earlier in the year.

With financial services accounting for nearly nine out of every 10 shares traded on the Exchange, the sector is expected to remain a key driver of market liquidity and investor sentiment in the weeks ahead.