WED APRIL 15 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market sustained its bullish momentum for the seventh consecutive trading session, buoyed by strong buying interest in bellwether banking and telecom stocks, even as activity across fixed income markets remained largely mixed.
The All-Share Index advanced by 1.7% to close at 209,322.98 points, driven by gains in key counters including AIRTELAFRI (+10.0%), ZENITHBANK (+6.9%), STANBIC (+8.2%), MTNN (+1.1%), and GTCO (+3.2%).
The sustained rally pushed the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns higher to +4.0% and +34.5%, respectively. Market capitalization rose to N134.77 trillion.
Market activity strengthened significantly, with total traded volume rising by 24.1% to 706.39 million units, valued at N41.88 billion, across 46,231 deals. ZENITHBANK emerged as the most actively traded stock by both volume and value, recording 73.29 million units worth N8.78 billion.
Sectoral performance was mixed, as gains in the Banking (+3.2%) and Oil & Gas (+4.2%) indices offset declines recorded in Insurance (-1.3%), Consumer Goods (-0.2%), and Industrial Goods (-0.1%) sectors. Market breadth closed neutral, with an equal number of 37 gainers and 37 losers.
On the gainers’ chart, ARADEL and AIRTELAFRI both appreciated by 10.0%, while AUSTINLAZ (-9.8%) and JOHNHOLT (-9.7%) recorded the most significant losses of the trading day.
In the foreign exchange market, the naira extended its appreciation against the US dollar, strengthening by 0.4% to close at N1,342.00/$1 at the official window.
Meanwhile, activity in the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) secondary market remained subdued, with the average yield unchanged at 17.4%.
Across the curve, yields expanded at the short end by 7 basis points due to sell pressures on the 22-day-to-maturity bill, while marginal contractions were observed at the mid and long segments on the back of demand for longer-dated instruments.
Similarly, yields in the Open Market Operations (OMO) segment declined by 4 basis points to 20.7%, reflecting improved demand conditions.
The Treasury bond secondary market traded on a bullish note, as the average yield contracted by 6 basis points to 15.5%. This was largely driven by buying interest at the short end of the curve, particularly the MAR-2027 bond, while yields at the mid and long segments remained broadly unchanged.
In the money market, the overnight lending rate eased by 9 basis points to 22.2%, amid limited system liquidity inflows.
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