TUE SEPT 29 2026-theGBJournal| The Nigerian equities market opened the week on a positive note on Monday, as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 0.21% to close at 252,635.11 points, supported by continued index-tracking flows into FTSE Frontier constituents and lower fixed-income yields following the rate cut
Market capitalisation also gained 0.21% to settle at N164.00 trillion. Consequently, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled higher at +3.5% and +62.4%, respectively.
The positive performance was driven by gains in FIDELITYBK (+6.48%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+2.11%), ACCESSCORP (+1.11%) UBA (+1.8%), ETI (+1.5%) and UACN (+3.2%), which outweighed sell-offs in WEMABANK (-2.11%), CHAMS (-2.59%) and NGXGROUP (-0.81%).
Market activity was mixed, as total volume traded increased by 43.12% to 1.01 billion units, while value traded declined by 33.13% to N39.02 billion.
FIDELITYBK (+6.48%) recorded the highest trading volume at 528.00 million units, while it also accounted for the highest transaction value at N10.63 billion.
Market breadth remained positive at 1.24x, indicating a higher number of gainers relative to decliners, as thirty-nine stocks advanced against thirty-three decliners.
UPL (+9.89%) emerged as the session’s top gainer, while TRANSEXPR (-8.47%) led the losers’ chart.
In contrast, the NASD OTC market closed Monday’s session on a negative note, as the NASD Security Index (NSI) declined by 7.27% to 4,090.59 points.
Market capitalisation also decreased by 7.17% to N2.46 trillion, while the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return moderated to 15.43% from 24.48% in the previous session.
Trading activity weakened, as traded volume declined by 80.25% to 1.94 million units, while transaction value decreased by 83.45% to N193.80 million. A total of 20 trades were executed, representing a 42.86% increase from the previous session.
SDCSCSPLC emerged as the top advancer, gaining 10.00%, while SDMRS was the top decliner, shedding 10.00%.
Today, the naira depreciated against the U.S. dollar, with the USD/NGN pair appreciating by 0.08% to close at ₦1,330/$.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves increased by 0.03% to $54.87 billion as of 25 September 2026, extending the recent improvement in the country’s reserve position.
X-@theGBJournal|email:gbj@govbusinessjournal.com|govandbusinessj@gmail.com
