Insurance stocks rescue NGX as investors recover N481 billion

The Nigerian equities market bounced back on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, with investors gaining approximately N481.18 billion as strong buying interest in insurance stocks and selected large-cap counters lifted sentiment, outweighing profit-taking in industrial and transport shares.

The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose 0.30% to close at 247,984.55 points, up from 247,238.74 points in the previous session, while market capitalisation increased to N159.99 trillion from N159.51 trillion. The market’s year-to-date return also improved to 59.36%.

The recovery was driven primarily by insurance stocks, with LASACO Assurance, LINKASSURE and SUNU Assurance posting near double-digit gains, while advances in heavyweight stocks including HBM Nigeria, Dangote Sugar Refinery and Guinness Nigeria provided additional support.

Market summary:

All-Share Index (ASI): 247,984.55 points, up +0.30%.
Market capitalization: N159.99 trillion, up +0.30%.
Market capitalization gain: Approximately N481.18 billion.
Year-to-date (YTD) market return: +59.36%.
Trading volume: 637.96 million shares, up 3.81%.
Market turnover (value traded): N57.20 billion.
Total deals: 71,240.
Market breadth: 34 gainers against 24 losers.

Top 5 Gainers:

LASACO Assurance: up 10.00% to N2.20, from N2.00.
LINKASSURE: up 9.93% to N1.66, from N1.51.
Transnational Express: up 9.93% to N3.10, from N2.82.
SUNU Assurance: up 9.88% to N3.56, from N3.24.
Continental Microfinance Bank (CMFC): up 9.86% to N3.79, from N3.45.

Top 5 Losers:

Meyer Plc: down 9.97% to N16.70, from N18.55.
Mecure Industries: down 9.94% to N56.20, from N62.40.
ABC Transport: down 9.93% to N6.35, from N7.05.
C&I Leasing: down 8.66% to N5.80, from N6.35.
HMCALL: down 8.21% to N3.02, from N3.29.

Driving the numbers:

Insurance stocks dominated the session, providing the strongest boost to market sentiment.

LASACO Assurance emerged as the day’s top performer, climbing 10% to N2.20, while LINKASSURE advanced 9.93% and SUNU Assurance gained 9.88%, lifting the Insurance Index to become the best-performing sector.
Buying interest also extended to smaller-cap stocks, with Transnationwide Express rising 9.93% to N3.10 and Critical Minerals Financing Corp (CMFC) gained 9.86% to N3.79, reflecting renewed investor appetite for mid- and small-cap counters.
Among the large-cap stocks, HBM Nigeria gained 6.82%, Dangote Sugar Refinery rose 6.21%, and Guinness Nigeria added 4.87%, helping offset weakness in selected industrial and transport stocks.
Other notable gainers included NEM Insurance (+7.24%), TIP (+4.39%), Transcorp (+3.55%), NASCON (+2.04%), Oando (+1.70%), Fidelity Bank (+1.63%), UBA (+0.86%) and First HoldCo (+0.79%).

On the downside, Meyer Plc led the losers after falling 9.97%, followed by Mecure Industries (-9.94%), ABC Transport (-9.93%), C&I Leasing (-8.66%), and HMCALL (-8.21%), suggesting investors locked in profits after recent rallies.

Sector performance:

Sectoral performance was broadly positive, with the Insurance Index leading gains at 2.33%, followed by the Industrial Index (+1.16%), Consumer Goods (+0.62%), Banking (+0.09%) and Oil & Gas (+0.06%), while the Commodity Index closed unchanged.

Market breadth remained positive, with 34 advancing stocks outpacing 24 decliners, reflecting sustained buying interest across insurance, industrial and consumer goods counters.
THOMASWY and HBM Nigeria traded above their respective 52-week highs at N4.38 and N389.90, while HMCALL closed below its 52-week low of N3.02.
Trading activity also strengthened, with total volume increasing 3.81% to 637.96 million shares valued at N57.20 billion across 71,240 deals.
Access Holdings recorded the highest trading volume with 87.54 million shares, accounting for 12.93% of total volume.

HBM Nigeria led in traded value at N6.83 billion, representing 18.74% of the day’s turnover, while FCMB and CHAMS ranked behind Access Holdings in volume contribution. Zenith Bank and MTN Nigeria followed HBM Nigeria in traded value.

What you should know:

Tuesday’s recovery underscores renewed investor confidence in the insurance sector, with broad-based gains across insurance counters driving the market higher despite continued profit-taking in some recently appreciated industrial and transport stocks.

The rebound also reflects continued rotation into fundamentally sound stocks, particularly industrial and consumer goods.
The benchmark index closed near its recent highs, pushing market capitalisation closer to the N160 trillion mark.

On May 13, 2026, the All-Share Index hit 252,508.19 points, while equity market capitalisation rose to N161.84 trillion, the highest levels of seen in the performance indicators before market correction set in and later worsened in June wiping off over N13 trillion.