The Nigerian stock market closed bearish on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, recording a loss of N556 billion.
Losses in some heavyweight stocks such as International Energy Insurance, Aradel, Universal Insurance, Red Star Express, Royal Exchange, and 22 other declining stocks drove the market into negative territory.
The market capitalisation of listed equities dropped by N556 billion, or 0.36 per cent, from N155.973 trillion to close at N155.417 trillion.
The All-Share Index (ASI) also declined by 0.36 per cent, shedding 860.76 points to close at 241,611.23 compared to 240,750.47 on Tuesday.
As a result, the year-to-date (YTD) return dropped to 54.71 per cent, while the market breadth closed flat with 27 losers and 27 gainers.
On the losers’ chart, International Energy Insurance led by 10 per cent, settling at N4.77, Aradel trailed by 9.99 per cent, closing at N1,374.20, and Universal Insurance declined by 9.41 per cent, ending the session at 77k per share.
Red Star Express dipped by 9.26 per cent, finishing at N14.70, while Royal Exchange dropped by 8.62 per cent, closing at N1.06 per share.
Naira depreciates against dollar at official market
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent, finishing at N3.52, WAPIC followed by 8.44 per cent, settling at N2 44, and UAC of Nigeria grew by 6.56 per cent, closing at N177.85 per share.
AVA Capital advanced by 6.29 per cent, ending the session at N7.60, while Caverton Offshore Support Group increased by 5.32 per share, settling at N4.95 per share.
Market activity strengthened during the session, with total volume traded rising by 177.65 per cent to 1.19 billion share, valued at N37.82 billion across 34,546 deals.
Fortis Global Insurance led trading volume with 610.68 million shares, accounting for 51.17 per cent of the day’s total volume.
MTN Nigeria recorded the highest traded value at N8.12 billion, representing 21.47 per cent of the total value traded.
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