FRI SEPT 11 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market staged a modest recovery on Thursday, with the benchmark index gaining 0.06%, a day after a sharp sell-off, as advances in major banking stocks offset losses in several large-cap names.
The NGX All-Share Index rose 0.06% to 242,378.13 points, while market capitalisation increased by the same margin to N157.15 trillion.
The rebound lifted the market’s year-to-date return to 55.76%, from 55.66% in the previous session.
The recovery was led by Access Holdings, United Bank for Africa and Guaranty Trust Holding Company, which gained 5.66%, 2.21% and 1.48%, respectively.
Their gains outweighed declines in RT Briscoe, AIICO Insurance and Oando, which fell 10%, 3.05% and 2.13%.
Trading activity also picked up sharply. Volume surged 161.79% to 1.40 billion shares, while turnover rose 21.83% to N27.14 billion.
However, the broader market remained weak: 30 stocks declined against 25 gainers, leaving market breadth at 0.83x.
Seplat led the gainers, rising 10%, while Aradel Holdings fell 10% to lead the decliners.
Aradel also accounted for the largest share of value traded, with transactions worth N5.34 billion.
Mutual Benefits Assurance was the most actively traded stock by volume, with 59.55 million shares changing hands.
The Thursday rebound therefore remained narrow, with gains concentrated in selected banking stocks rather than reflecting a broad-based reversal of the previous day’s losses.
Elsewhere, the NASD OTC market extended its decline. The NASD Security Index fell 0.15% to 4,526.76 points, while market capitalisation declined by the same margin to N2.72 trillion.
Its year-to-date return eased to 27.74%, from 27.93% a session earlier.
Activity on the OTC market weakened, with volume falling 62.20% to 377,601 units and turnover declining 16.55% to N51.05 million.
The number of trades fell 32.35% to 23.
SDCSCSPLC gained 0.94% to lead the NASD gainers, while SDFOODCPT fell 8.26%, the steepest decline of the session.
Meanwhile, the naira appreciated marginally against the U.S. dollar, with the USD/NGN pair declining by 0.07% to close at ₦1,328.22/$.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves increased by 0.11% to $54.34 billion as of 9 September 2026, extending the recent improvement in the country’s reserve position.
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