Cornerstone Insurance Plc emerged as the dominant stock on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Thursday after investors traded 3.64 billion shares worth N18.37 billion, making the insurer the clear driver of market activity despite the broader market closing lower.
NGX trading data showed that 3,636,994,899 shares of Cornerstone Insurance changed hands at a total value of N18.37 billion during the session.
The transaction accounted for approximately 85.8 percent of the Exchange’s total trading volume of 4.24 billion shares, indicating the extraordinary concentration of activity in a single stock.
Cornerstone Insurance also contributed about 36.3 percent of the day’s total transaction value of N50.65 billion, underscoring its significant influence on overall market turnover.
The scale of trading far exceeded activity in every other listed company.
VFD Group Plc ranked a distant second with 151.83 million shares valued at N1.87 billion, while Chams Holding Company Plc traded 33.75 million shares.
FirstHoldCo Plc recorded 28.25 million shares worth N3.88 billion, maintaining its position among the market’s most actively traded stocks by value despite relatively modest trading volume.
Critical Minerals Financing Corporation Plc completed the list of the five most actively traded equities by volume.
The extraordinary activity in Cornerstone Insurance came as the broader equity market extended its recent decline.
The NGX All-Share Index fell 0.39 percent to 243,017.38 points, while equity market capitalisation declined by approximately N613 billion to N156.88 trillion as investors continued to take profits across selected large-cap stocks.
Despite the market’s weakness, Cornerstone Insurance’s trading activity stood out as one of the most concentrated single-stock sessions recorded on the Exchange this year with nearly nine out of every ten shares traded on the NGX belonging to the insurer.
The transaction also lifted overall market liquidity, helping total trading volume rise from 1.46 billion shares in the previous session to 4.24 billion shares, while transaction value increased from N20.94 billion to N50.65 billion.
The significant concentration of trades in a single equity suggests substantial institutional participation during the session and made Cornerstone Insurance the defining stock of Thursday’s trading on the Nigerian Exchange.
