Kayode Tokede
The market value of BUA Foos Plc, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and 11 other blue-chip firms on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) decreased by N3.7 trillion last week, the worst performances in recentl history.
On the back of the decline, the market capitalisation of the NGX to dropped by 1.19 per cent in its Week-on-Week (WoW) performance to N156.624 trillion from N158.513 trillion it opened for trading.
Also, the NGX All-Share Index, which mirrors the direction of the market declined by 1.2 per cent or 2,954.40 basis points WoW to close at 242,619.20 basis points.
Capital market analysts attributed the decline to new the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that allow individuals to trade in Open Market Operations (OMO) and the anticipated revised NGX pricing methodology, which takes effect today.
With OMO bills now accessible to individuals and other eligible investors through banks, rather than restricted solely to institutional Money Market Dealers, investors have moved their investment where it has a very low risk, high, guaranteed returns.
In the week under review, BUA Foods Plc, followed by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and HBM Nigeria Plc saw the highest decline in share price.
For instance, the 11.1 per cent or N84.50 per share WoW drop in BUA Foods Plc led to N1.52 trillion in market value of the agro-allied company.
The price of MTN Nigeria Communications stock on NGX declined by 4.97 per cent or N40.00 per share WoW, the market value dipped by N839.8 billion, while market value of HBM Nigeria depreciated by 7.8 per cent or N26.00 WoW.
Similarly, First Holdco Plc’s market value dropped by N245.6 billion as its stock price declined by 3.9 per cent or N5.40 per share to close at N140 per share. Unilever Nigeria Plc also dropped by N158.56 billion in market value following a 23.4 per cent or N27.6 per share drop in stock price.
Meanwhile, the CBN held an OMO auction last week, attracting N4.93 trillion in total subscriptions against a combined N600 billion on offer, split evenly between 103-day and 138-day bills.
However, the apex bank allotted N2.60 trillion, over four times its offer across the two tenors, even after weeks of aggressive mop-up activity followed by massive liquidity injection.
This voracious appetite has become the norm for OMO auctions throughout 2026—very big demand, bigger allotments, and no sign of slowing down.
The scale of demand at this auction, nearly N4.93 trillion in aggregate bids for just N600 billion on offer, reflects the sustained pull of OMO yields relative to other fixed-income instruments.
With OMO bills now accessible to individuals and other eligible investors through banks, rather than restricted solely to institutional Money Market Dealers, the widening pool of participants has added a fresh layer of demand pressure.
Analysts tracking the trend expect the elevated OMO yields to gradually filter into bank deposit rates, as lenders compete to retain funds that might otherwise flow into the more attractive sterilisation instrument.
Over time, this dynamic is expected to encourage a gradual convergence between Treasury Bill and OMO yields, narrowing the roughly 400-basis-point gap currently separating the two instruments at comparable tenors.
This auction adds to what has already been one of the CBN’s most active OMO sterilisation stretches of the year just a week after pumping a net N5.21 trillion into the banking system, with a single N2.48 trillion OMO repayment on August 11.
The auction follows a combined N4.69 trillion mopped up across auctions on August 3 and 4, and over N7 trillion absorbed through OMO auctions in July alone. The consistency of demand at each successive auction, even after such large sums have already been pulled from the banking system, suggests system liquidity remains elevated enough to sustain continued heavy participation.
With the stop rate on OMO bills now at 20.4 per cent, well above comparable Treasury Bill returns, the instrument continues to stand out as one of the more attractive risk-free options.
Looking ahead, analysts at Cordros Research said, “We expect market activity to be shaped by the remaining H1-26 earnings releases, particularly across the banking sector, where prospective dividend declarations could drive stock-specific positioning.
“Beyond earnings, investor sentiment could also be influenced by developments surrounding FTSE Russell’s final decision on Nigeria’s potential reclassification to Frontier Market status, following the earlier suspension due to the market moving to a shorter settlement cycle.”
They added, “We note ongoing between stakeholders which included an announcement during the week that foreign investors would not be required to pre-fund for trades, addressing the key concern around accessibility.
“Meanwhile, the revised NGX pricing methodology, which takes effect on 17 August, could introduce some near-term volatility to market activities. Overall, we expect the market to trade cautiously as investors weigh near-term headwinds and tailwinds.”