The Nigerian stock market closed the week with a 0.56% drop, losing ₦516 billion in value as profit-taking hit major stocks. Insurance shares led trading activity after the NIIRA 2025 law was signed

The Nigerian stock market ended the week on a negative note on Friday, with key indicators falling by 0.56% amid profit-taking across several stocks.

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The market capitalisation dropped by ₦516 billion, closing at ₦92.214 trillion, down from ₦92.730 trillion the previous day. Similarly, the All-Share Index shed 815.80 points to settle at 145,754.91.

Declines in Abbey Mortgage Bank, Custodian Investment Plc, Deap Capital Management, The Initiates Plc, and 25 other stocks drove the downturn.

Despite the dip, market breadth was positive, with 42 gainers against 29 losers. Top gainers included Champion Breweries (+10% to ₦14.40), Union Dicon Salt (+10% to ₦9.90), and Universal Insurance (+10% to ₦1.10).

On the losers’ side, Abbey Mortgage Bank fell 9.87% to ₦6.30, while Custodian Investment Plc dropped 8.48% to ₦40.45.

Trading activity was robust, with 2.21 billion shares worth ₦32.4 billion exchanged in 35,036 deals, led by heavy trading in insurance stocks like Linkage Assurance and Universal Insurance.

David Adonri, Vice President of Highcap Securities, attributed the shift to investor interest in insurance stocks following President Bola Tinubu’s signing of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.

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However, he noted that the initial surge in demand could not be sustained, calling the market pullback “absolutely normal.”