Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed in the red on 20 May 2026, with the All-Share Index shedding 2,571.7 points to settle at 249,063.7.
The 1.02% decline pushed the benchmark index below the 250,000-point threshold, as selling pressure weighed on large-cap stocks with BUA Cement leading the drop, falling 10% to close at N414.00.
Market activity also cooled during the session. Trading volume fell to 600.2 million shares from 703.9 million in the previous session. Access Holdings recorded the highest volume with 55.9 million shares, while Zenith Bank led the value chart with trades worth N4.8 billion.
Gainers and losers
Trading sentiment turned negative, reducing the market’s year-to-date return to 60.05% from 61.71% a day earlier.
Zichis and ABC Transport topped the gainers’ chart after both advanced 9.99% to N32.04 and N8.26 respectively. Japaul Gold, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank, and FTN Cocoa also posted strong gains.
On the downside, Chemical Allied Products fell 9.99% to N210.35, joining BUA Cement among the biggest losers. eTranzact, International Breweries, and DEAP Capital also closed lower.
Sector performance mixed
Among SWOOTs, performance was broadly negative. BUA Cement dropped 10.00%, International Breweries declined 5.38%, and Nigerian Breweries dipped 0.48%. Lafarge Africa and Wema Bank bucked the trend with gains of 2.09% and 0.61%.
In the FUGAZ banking group, First HoldCo fell 4.04% and Access Holdings dipped 0.39%. GTCO, UBA, and Zenith Bank posted modest gains.
Sector indices closed mostly lower. The NGX Industrial Goods Index led losses with a 3.84% drop, while the Consumer Goods, Banking, and Oil and Gas indices also declined. The NGX Insurance Index gained 0.80%, ending as the only sector in positive territory.
Despite the pullback, the index holds a quarterly return of 23.74% and a monthly gain of 2.80%.
