Financial Stocks Account for Nearly 80% of NGX Trading Volume

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) remained heavily dependent on financial stocks last week with the sector accounting for nearly 80 percent of total trading volume and dwarfing the contribution of every other industry.

According to the NGX weekly trading report, the Financial Services Industry recorded 2.909 billion shares valued at N56.67 billion in 106,662 deals, representing 79.76 percent of the total 3.647 billion shares traded on the Exchange during the week.

The sector also contributed 43.54 percent of the market’s total equity turnover value of N130.15 billion.

Sector Performance by Trading Activity

The figures illustrate the Financial Services sector’s overwhelming influence on market activity. Nearly four out of every five shares traded on the Exchange originated from financial stocks, far exceeding the contribution of every other sector combined.

Trading activity was also heavily concentrated in a handful of financial-related equities.

Fortis Global Insurance Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc and Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc accounted for 1.544 billion shares worth N4.07 billion in 3,017 deals, representing 42.33 percent of total market volume but only 3.12 percent of total trading value.

The disparity between volume and value suggests that much of the week’s activity was concentrated in relatively low-priced stocks, where large numbers of shares changed hands without generating a corresponding share of total market value.

Despite the Financial Services sector’s dominance in trading activity, price performance was considerably weaker.

The NGX Banking Index declined 4.07 percent during the week, while the NGX Insurance Index recorded an even steeper 5.52 percent loss.

The broader NGX All-Share Index (ASI) also fell 1.60 percent, while equity market capitalisation declined by approximately N1.97 trillion as widespread profit-taking weighed on market sentiment.

The week’s trading pattern underscores the Financial Services sector’s importance to the Nigerian capital market. Even as investors reduced exposure across a broad range of equities, banking and insurance stocks continued to dominate trading activity, confirming their position as the Exchange’s principal source of liquidity and investor participation.