Nigerian stock market report for Week Four of August 2025

Nigerian Stock Market Weekly Report

Last week was a reminder that even the strongest rallies need to take a breather. After several weeks of resilience, the Nigerian stock market hit the brakes, closing with a sharp pullback that left investors reassessing their next moves.

The NGX All-Share Index shed 2.51% to settle at 141,004.14 points, while market capitalization slipped to ₦89.209 trillion, erasing more than ₦2.2 trillion in value in just five trading days.

What made this decline stand out wasn’t just the red ink, but the way it unfolded. Daily trading showed wild swings in both sentiment and liquidity—culminating in Friday’s staggering ₦47.8 billion turnover, the highest single-day value in weeks. This surge suggests that, while the broader market pulled back, large institutional trades continued to shape the battlefield.

For investors, the message is clear: this wasn’t a collapse, but a rotation. Indices from Banking (-3.48%) to Insurance (-4.17%) took heavy hits, while Consumer Goods (+0.83%) and Growth (+4.14%) stood tall. In other words, smart money didn’t flee the market—it repositioned.

As we step into the new week of August 25th, the big question is whether this shift is the start of a deeper correction or just a cooling-off period before the next wave higher. Let’s break down what really happened and how to position yourself strategically.

Key Market Metrics Dashboard

Market Analysis Narrative

Here’s what really caught our attention: while volume fell sharply by 44%, value traded actually increased by 7.5%. This indicates that investors focused on high-value, blue-chip trades rather than speculative penny stocks. Think of it as fewer shares being traded, but at much higher prices—a classic institutional footprint.

Market breadth tilted bearish with 54 losers vs 43 gainers, showing that the week’s pressure wasn’t isolated to a few names but spread across multiple sectors. Banking, Insurance, and Premium Board stocks bore the brunt of the selloff, while Consumer Goods quietly emerged as a defensive play.

This divergence matters. Defensive Consumer Goods companies—like BUA Foods—attracted resilience, while high-beta Financials and Insurance names were punished. The 8.42% crash in Industrial Goods stood out as the steepest sector decline, wiping out recent gains.

Smart money is signaling a preference for defensives and growth themes, even as it trims exposure to sectors most sensitive to interest rates and policy uncertainty.

You can read our Nigerian stock market report for week three of August here.

Winners & Losers Analysis

Top 10 Gainers

Narrative: The winners were dominated by insurance, industrial small caps, and consumer-facing plays. Notice how names like Guinea Insurance, Mutual Benefits, and Caverton rode momentum. For an investor, holding Austin Laz meant pocketing 20.8% in just one week.

Top 10 Losers

Narrative: The losers’ board leaned heavily toward insurance stocks, a sector-wide selloff that erased gains from earlier this year. Stanbic IBTC’s 15.4% drop was the largest decline among blue-chip stocks, possibly reflecting profit-taking following its rights issue.

Sector Performance Deep Dive

• Biggest Winner: NGX Growth Index +4.14% – showing appetite for select growth stocks.
  
• Defensive Strength: Consumer Goods Index +0.83% – buyers sought safety.
  
• Heavy Losers:
  
  • Industrial Goods -8.42%
    
  • Insurance -4.17%
    
  • Banking -3.48%
    
  • Premium Board -4.31%
    

The rotation was clear: institutional investors trimmed cyclical and financial exposure while increasing their holdings in consumer staples and growth-focused plays.

Volume & Value Analysis

• Financial Services: 3.734bn shares worth ₦60.6bn (78.24% of volume, 56.44% of value)
  
• Consumer Goods: 370.4m shares worth ₦14bn
  
• Services: 176.3m shares worth ₦1.28bn
  

Top 3 Most Traded Stocks (by volume):

1. Universal Insurance
   
2. Zenith Bank
   
3. FCMB Group
   

Together, these names accounted for 25.16% of the turnover volume and 27.4% of the value.

This illustrates where conviction trading occurred: financials remain the heartbeat of the market, even in a bearish week.

Daily Market Progression

Friday was the turning point: ₦47.8bn traded value with 51 gainers vs 13 losers—a rare breadth reversal after mid-week weakness.

Corporate Actions & Market Events

• Ex-Dividends Adjustments:
  
  • Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc (₦0.10 dividend)
    
  • Custodian Investment Plc (₦0.25 dividend)
    
  • Cutix Plc (₦0.10 dividend)
    
  • BUA Foods Plc (₦13.00 dividend)
    
• ETPs: 396,920 units traded worth ₦39.03m (+44% from last week).
  
• Bonds: 58,537 units traded worth ₦58.77m (down 42% from last week).
  

What This Means for Your Investment Strategy

Last week’s -2.51% slide in the All-Share Index might look discouraging at first glance, but the data suggests it was more about portfolio rotation than an outright loss of confidence. The value traded actually rose to ₦107.4 billion (up 7.5% week-on-week) despite a 44% collapse in volume. That’s a classic footprint of institutional investors trimming exposure in specific sectors while doubling down on quality names.

Here’s how that translates into actionable takeaways for different investor profiles:

For Conservative Investors – Play Defense with Resilience

• The Consumer Goods Index was the lone bright spot among the majors, climbing 0.83%. Companies like BUA Foods Plc, which adjusted for a ₦13.00 dividend on August 22, stood firm despite broad market weakness.
  
• This sector has historically provided downside protection during volatile periods, and last week confirmed its defensive appeal.
  
• If you’re risk-averse, sticking with dividend-paying consumer staples that show earnings consistency is a way to safeguard capital while still collecting yield.
  

For Growth-Oriented Investors – Momentum in Select Mid-Caps

• The NGX Growth Index surged +4.14%, even as the broader market tumbled. That tells us smart money rotated into niche growth plays.
  
• Notice how winners like Austin Laz (+20.8%), NCR Nigeria (+20.7%), and Multiverse Mining (+11.2%) came from outside the blue-chip basket. These are mid-cap growth stories that investors often overlook until momentum builds.
  
• Growth-oriented investors should monitor these secondary plays, as they can deliver outsized returns when institutional flows favor diversification away from banks and insurers.
  

For Value Hunters – Insurance Sector on the Bargain Shelf

• The NGX Insurance Index was one of the hardest-hit, falling 4.17%.
  
• Stocks like NEM Insurance (-18.1%), Lasaco Assurance (-14.6%), and Coronation Insurance (-11.6%) were punished severely.
  
• While sector-wide pessimism may persist in the short term, history shows that sharp corrections in insurance often create contrarian entry points. For example, NEM Insurance still trades with strong fundamentals, and a 2-week selloff doesn’t erase its YTD gains entirely.
  
• Patient value investors could begin staggered accumulation here, recognizing that insurance plays are cyclical but essential to portfolio diversification.
  

The Bigger Picture – Watch the Rotation

• Financial Services still dominated activity, making up 78.2% of total market volume and 56.4% of traded value. However, the Banking Index (-3.48%) and Premium Board (-4.31%) saw sharp selloffs, a sign of profit-taking after months of substantial YTD gains.
  
• Meanwhile, Industrial Goods (-8.42%) was the week’s heaviest loser, underscoring the risks of overexposure to cyclical heavyweights.
  

Key Insight: This wasn’t a market-wide exit. It was reallocation—from banks, insurers, and industrials into consumer defensives and growth stories.

Bottom Line for Strategy

• Conservatives: Anchor in Consumer Goods and dividend names (BUA Foods, defensive staples).
  
• Growth seekers: Ride the NGX Growth Index wave—momentum is alive in mid-caps like Austin Laz, NCR Nigeria, and Multiverse.
  
• Value hunters: Pick through the insurance wreckage for oversold gems, such as NEM Insurance and Coronation.
  

Above all, Friday’s session (₦47.8bn turnover, 51 gainers vs 13 losers) suggests bargain-hunters already stepped in. That breadth reversal could be the first clue that the market’s pullback is nearing exhaustion.

Translation: If you’re patient and selective, last week’s losers may become this week’s opportunities.

Would you like me to visualize this strategy section (e.g., three separate boxes for Conservative, Growth, and Value investors, with icons and data points) so that it resembles an investment playbook for presentation?

Forward-Looking Analysis

• Key Levels to Watch:
  
  • All-Share Index: 140,000 support, resistance around 145,000.
    
  • Banking Index: Needs to stabilize after -3.5% drop.
    
• Potential Catalysts for Next Week:
  
  • Dividend payments hitting accounts (BUA Foods, Custodian, Cutix).
    
  • Sector rotation into Consumer Goods and Growth stocks.
    
  • Institutional re-entry into Banking once profit-taking subsides.
    
• Momentum Indicators: Friday’s breadth (51 gainers vs 13 losers) suggests the market might attempt a rebound this week. Watch Monday’s open for confirmation.
  

Please note that this analysis reflects market observations and institutional patterns, rather than personalized investment advice. Always conduct your due diligence and consider your risk tolerance before making investment decisions.