TUE SEPT 15 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market opened the week on a mildly positive note, with selective buying in key stocks helping the benchmark index edge higher despite weaker trading activity and losses across several counters.
The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 0.10% to close at 243,299.24 points, while market capitalisation advanced by N0.16 trillion, or 0.10%, to N157.75 trillion.
The modest gain lifted the market’s year-to-date return to 56.35%, from 56.19% in the previous session, underscoring the strong performance of Nigerian equities so far this year even as investors continue to navigate valuation concerns, macroeconomic uncertainty and shifting expectations around interest rates and corporate earnings.
Monday’s performance appeared to be driven primarily by stock-specific buying rather than broad-based market enthusiasm.
NGXGROUP rose 10.00%, CUSTODIAN gained 7.14%, while FIDELITYBK advanced 5.26%.
These gains were sufficient to offset declines in JOHNHOLT, which fell 10.00%, as well as DAARCOMM and ELLAHLAKES, each of which declined by 9.80%.
The mixed performance suggests that investors remained selective, with buying interest concentrated in particular counters rather than spread evenly across the market.
Such positioning could reflect portfolio rebalancing at the start of a new trading week, renewed interest in stocks with perceived earnings or valuation upside, and profit-taking in counters that have recently attracted strong buying interest.
The market also opened the week against a backdrop in which investors are closely watching inflation, interest-rate expectations, corporate earnings and liquidity conditions, all of which continue to influence asset allocation between equities and fixed-income securities.
With Nigerian fixed-income yields remaining an important consideration for institutional investors, sustained gains in equities are likely to depend increasingly on earnings prospects and valuations rather than momentum alone.
Trading activity, meanwhile, weakened during the session.
Total volume traded declined by 22.41% to 428.97 million units, while transaction value fell by 20.42% to N20.52 billion.
The decline in turnover indicates that Monday’s advance was achieved without a corresponding increase in market-wide trading intensity.
STERLINGNG led the volume chart, accounting for 78.05 million units, although its share price was unchanged at 0.00%.
ARADEL led the value chart, with trades worth N2.48 billion, also closing flat.
Market breadth remained positive at 1.07x, with 30 stocks advancing against 28 decliners.
NGXGROUP (+10.00%) emerged as the session’s top gainer, while JOHNHOLT (-10.00%) led the losers’ chart.
Overall, Monday’s session pointed to a market that remains resilient but increasingly selective.
The relatively small rise in the ASI, combined with lower turnover and a narrow spread between gainers and decliners, suggests investors were willing to add exposure to selected equities but were not yet displaying a strong market-wide risk-on stance.
NASD OTC Market Also Advances
The NASD OTC market also opened the week on a positive note, although the gain came alongside a sharp contraction in trading activity.
The NASD Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 1.86% to 4,555.42 points, while market capitalisation also rose by 1.86% to N2.73 trillion.
The market’s year-to-date return improved to 28.55%, from 26.21% in the previous week.
However, the increase in the index was accompanied by a substantial decline in turnover.
Traded volume plunged by 97.47% to 15,594 units, while transaction value fell by 93.57% to N1.39 million.
Only eight trades were executed during the session, representing a 71.43% decrease from the previous session.
CSCS was the strongest performer on the market, gaining 9.09%, while there were no decliners recorded during the session.
The combination of a rising NSI and sharply lower trading volumes suggests that Monday’s NASD advance should be interpreted cautiously.
With limited transactions underpinning the move, the gain may say more about price movements in a small number of actively traded securities than about a broad shift in investor positioning.
Meanwhile, the official FX rate appreciated by 0.1% to N1,326.55/USD a mixed performance last week.
Similarly, Nigeria’s external reserves increased by 0.13% to $54.41 billion as of 10 September 2026, extending the recent improvement in the country’s reserve position.
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