MON JUNE 22 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s benchmark stock index snapped a multi-week losing streak on Monday, climbing 0.97% as strong gains in heavyweight banking stocks reignited investor appetite and added N1.52 trillion to market value.
The All-Share Index advanced to 238,219.19 points, lifting the market’s year-to-date return to 53.08% from 51.62% a week earlier, while total market capitalization rose to N152.85 trillion.
The rally was driven by buying interest in tier-one lenders, with FIRSTHOLDCO and GTCO each surging 10%, while ZENITHBANK gained 7.09%, more than offsetting declines in ETERNA, DEAPCAP and AUSTINLAZ, which shed between 9.7% and 9.9%.
Trading activity strengthened, with transaction volumes increasing 8.05% and turnover jumping 47.86%. FIDELITYBK recorded the highest traded volume at 48.75 million shares, while MTNN led by value with N16.64 billion worth of transactions.
Despite the advance in the benchmark index, market breadth remained weak, with 37 decliners against 21 gainers, resulting in a negative breadth ratio of 0.57x. ZICHIS posted the steepest loss, falling 10%, while FIRSTHOLDCO topped the gainers’ chart.
In the over-the-counter market, the NASD Securities Index rose 0.70% to 4,282.51 points, lifting market capitalization to N2.57 trillion and bringing year-to-date returns to 20.85%.
Trading activity, however, slowed sharply, with volumes plunging 65.41% and transaction value declining 23.44% to N32.67 million across 19 deals. SDFSTTRUSTMB emerged as the session’s best performer with an 8.84% gain, while no stocks closed lower.
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