SAT SEPT 19 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market ended the week higher, with the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) rising 2.78% week-on-week to 249,804.56 points, driven by gains across all major sectors.
Market capitalisation increased 2.90% to N162.16 trillion, its highest level so far, reflecting the broad-based strength in equities during the week.
The ASI’s year-to-date return rose to 60.53%, from 56.19% a week earlier. All other indices finished higher with the exception of NGX Growth index which
depreciated by 0.14%.
Trading in the top three equities, namely Fidelity Bank Plc, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc and Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc (measured by volume), accounted for 1.229 billion shares worth N15.942 billion in 7,796 deals, contributing 37.83% and 6.70% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The positive sentiment was driven by gains in FIRSTHOLDCO (+17.65% w/w), MTNN (+9.73% w/w), ZENITHBANK (+2.47% w/w), and ACCESSCORP (+0.52% w/w), which outweighed losses recorded in UBA (-0.45% w/w), OMATEK (-12.41% w/w), ETI (-9.46% w/w), and CADBURY (-9.32% w/w).
Sectoral performance was broadly positive this week, with all five indices closing higher. The Banking index led the advancers (+4.43% w/w), followed by Insurance (+3.79% w/w), Oil & Gas (+3.71% w/w), Industrial (+3.12% w/w), and Consumer Goods (+0.52% w/w).
In Friday’s session, gains were led by MTNN (+9.20%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+8.11%), and DANGSUGAR (+1.63%) whcih outweighed losses recorded in ZENITHBANK (-0.08%), ACCESSCORP (-0.17%), UBA (-0.22%).
Market activity was mixed, as total volume traded declined by 54.85% to 501.90 million units while value increased significantly by 100.47% to N92.23 billion.
ACCESSCORP (-0.17%) led the volume chart with 13.36mn units traded, while SEPLAT (0.00%) topped the value chart with transactions worth N67.51 billion.
Market breadth was positive at 1.67x, reflecting a higher number of advancers relative to decliners, as thirty-eight (38) stocks advanced against twenty-seven (27) decliners.
CILEASING (+10.00%) emerged as the session’s top gainer, while TRANSPOWER (-9.96%) led the losers’ chart.
NASD OTC market falls
The NASD over-the-counter market closed lower, with the NASD Securities Index (NSI) falling 1.49% to 4,436.04 points.
Market capitalisation on the NASD OTC market also declined 1.49% to N2.66 trillion, while its year-to-date return moderated to 25.18%, from 27.07% in the previous session.
Trading activity, however, increased sharply. Volume traded surged 6,276.01% to 2.73 million units, while transaction value rose 2,318.33% to N57.42 million.
The number of trades executed increased 155.56% to 23.
The contrasting performance between the listed equities market and the NASD OTC market underscored the stronger buying interest in NGX-listed stocks during the week, with the benchmark index extending its gains and market capitalisation reaching a new high of N162.16 trillion.
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