The Nigerian Exchange closed lower last week despite a significant improvement in market breadth as gains across a larger number of stocks failed to prevent the benchmark index from declining.
The NGX All-Share Index fell 0.33 percent to 247,539.73 points in the week ended October 16, 2026 from 248,363.55 points a week earlier.
The decline wiped 823.82 points off the benchmark index, while equities market capitalisation closed at N160.725 trillion.
The weaker headline performance contrasted sharply with activity beneath the index, where 50 equities appreciated during the week, more than double the 24 gainers recorded in the preceding week.
The number of declining stocks, meanwhile, dropped to 30 from 54, while 66 equities finished unchanged compared with 68 in the previous week.
This left the market with approximately 1.7 gainers for every decliner, a significant reversal from the previous week when declining stocks outnumbered gainers by more than two to one.
However, weakness in some heavily weighted stocks and market segments kept the broader index in negative territory.
The NGX Banking Index declined 3.15 percent, while the NGX Premium Index lost 1.50 percent. The NGX 30 Index, which tracks some of the market’s largest and most liquid companies, fell 0.41 percent.
GTCO declined 5.10 percent to N124.80 during the week, while Zenith Bank dropped 6.46 percent to N126.00.
Gains elsewhere helped limit the broader market decline. The NGX Oil and Gas Index advanced 3.13 percent, while the Commodity Index gained 2.36 percent. The Main Board Index rose 0.50 percent and the Consumer Goods Index edged 0.09 percent higher.
Livestock Feeds led the week’s gainers after surging 44.49 percent from N13.15 to N19.00. E-Tranzact followed with a 42.98 percent increase to N17.30, while Multi-Trex gained 42.86 percent to N0.60.
UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust led the decliners with an 11.88 percent drop to N21.15. Nigerian Enamelware fell 9.95 percent to N36.65, while NASCON Allied Industries declined 9.48 percent to N171.
Trading activity also weakened substantially during the week.
Investors exchanged 1.659 billion shares worth N98.088 billion in 184,632 deals, compared with 2.715 billion shares valued at N158.280 billion in 209,986 deals in the preceding week.
That represents declines of approximately 38.9 percent in trading volume and 38.0 percent in transaction value, showing that the improvement in market breadth occurred alongside considerably weaker overall trading activity.
Financial services remained the dominant sector, accounting for 65.31 percent of total equity volume and 49.92 percent of transaction value with 1.083 billion shares worth N48.967 billion traded during the week.