WED NOV 04 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market halted its recent correction on Tuesday, with renewed buying interest in select large-cap stocks helping the benchmark index eke out a marginal gain, despite broader market weakness and declining investor participation.
The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced 0.02%, lifting its year-to-date (YTD) return to 63.41%. Market capitalisation closed at ₦165.11 trillion.
The modest recovery was supported by gains in ACCESSCORP (+1.89%), FCMB (+0.45%) and FIDELITYBK (+0.43%), which offset losses in UBA (-2.26%), DANGSUGAR (-1.48%), VITAFOAM (-9.99%) and ABBEYBANK (-8.73%).
However, the market’s marginal advance masked underlying weakness in investor sentiment. Market breadth remained negative, with 29 decliners against 18 advancers, while 76 stocks closed unchanged.
Trading activity also weakened considerably. Total volume traded declined 23.22% to 394.42 million shares, while transaction value contracted 57.06% to ₦20.43 billion, suggesting a significant moderation in market participation.
Sectoral performance was mixed, with the Consumer Goods Index emerging as the session’s strongest performer, advancing 0.17%.
Conversely, the Insurance Index recorded the steepest sectoral decline, shedding 1.15%.
In trading activity, ACCESSCORP dominated by volume, accounting for 74.19 million shares exchanged. ARADEL displaced DANGCEM as the market’s leading stock by transaction value, with deals worth ₦2.95 billion.
UPL and OMATEK recorded the strongest price appreciations, while FTGINSURE and VITAFOAM led the decliners.
NASD MARKET EXTENDS LOSSES
The NASD OTC market closed Tuesday’s session in negative territory, as renewed selling pressure dragged its benchmark index and market capitalisation lower.
The NASD Securities Index (NSI) declined 1.03% day-on-day to 4,228.46 points, while market capitalisation fell 1.01% to ₦2.54 trillion. Consequently, the market’s YTD return moderated to 19.32%.
Investor participation weakened sharply. Trading volume plunged 80.58% to 262,005 units, while transaction value declined 22.46% to ₦23.71 million. The number of transactions also dropped 36.11% to 23.
SDINGINPLC emerged as the session’s top performer, gaining 9.47%, while SDMASSTEPLC recorded the steepest decline, shedding 10.00%.
NAIRA STRENGTHENS AGAINST POUND AS EURO RATE HOLDS STEADY
In the foreign exchange market, the naira appreciated 0.10% against the US dollar, with the official exchange rate closing at ₦1,347.43/$.
Against other major currencies, the naira also recorded a modest improvement against the British pound.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reference rates showed the pound at approximately ₦1,807.05 on Tuesday, compared with ₦1,808.67 in the previous session, representing a 0.09% appreciation in the naira.
The euro traded at approximately ₦1,511.70, broadly unchanged from the previous session’s ₦1,511.70 reference level.
Overall, the naira’s performance reflected modest gains against the dollar and pound, while remaining largely stable against the euro.
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