NGX Suffers Record ₦13.3trn Monthly Value Erosion As June Selloff Reverses Market Rally

July 1 () — Nigeria’s equities market recorded its steepest monthly value loss on record in June 2026, with investors losing ₦13.29 trillion as widespread profit-taking, dividend adjustments and portfolio rebalancing triggered a broad-based selloff across the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

Market capitalisation declined from ₦160.5 trillion at the end of May to ₦147.2 trillion by the close of June, while the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) fell 8.28 percent, its sharpest monthly decline since President Bola Tinubu assumed office. Although the market retained a 47.43 percent year-to-date return, June significantly trimmed gains accumulated during the exchange’s remarkable rally in the first five months of the year.

The downturn followed an exceptional start to 2026, with the market gaining more than ₦60 trillion between January and May. April alone delivered a 20.36 percent monthly return, the strongest since May 2009, before signs of weakening market breadth emerged in May and intensified into sustained selling pressure throughout June.

Unlike previous corrections that were largely sector-specific, the June decline was broad-based, with all 20 NGX indices closing lower. The widespread losses pointed to investors reducing exposure across the market rather than rotating into defensive sectors.

Large-cap stocks bore the brunt of the correction. Premium Board companies, including Access Holdings, UBA, First HoldCo, Zenith Bank, MTN Nigeria, Seplat Energy, Lafarge Africa and Dangote Cement, collectively lost about ₦8.2 trillion in market value during the month. Overall, Nigeria’s trillion-naira stocks (SWOOTs) shed approximately ₦11.6 trillion, although Airtel Africa stood out as the lone bright spot, adding more than ₦4 trillion to its market capitalisation.

Analysts attributed the selloff to widespread profit-taking after the market’s historic rally, dividend-related price adjustments, portfolio shifts into high-yield fixed-income securities and liquidity diversion to major capital-raising exercises, including the Dangote Group’s private placement. Investor sentiment was also weighed down by FTSE Russell’s decision to delay Nigeria’s proposed reclassification to Frontier Market status pending further assessment of the country’s transition to a T+1 settlement cycle.

Despite the sharp correction, the market still ended the second quarter with an overall gain of about 15 percent, leaving investors focused on corporate earnings, domestic liquidity, monetary policy and foreign portfolio flows as key drivers of market direction in the second half of the year.