WED FEB 04 2026-theGBJournal| Nigerian stocks ended higher on Tuesday as market settled on a cautiously constructive tone, underpinned by improving currency sentiment and selective equity buying.
The benchmark All-Share Index was higher by 0.3% to 165,901.57 points, lifting market capitalization to N106.5 trillion. As a result, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled higher at +0.3% and +6.6%, respectively.
This modest gain suggests continued portfolio rebalancing into equities, particularly in low- and mid-cap names, as investors position for dividend declarations.
DANGCEM (+1.4%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+8.0%), ZENITHBANK (+2.4%), AUSTINLAZ (+10.00%), UNIONDICON (+10.00%), and IMG (+10.00%) shares rose robustly, while CUTIX (-10.00%), OMATEX (-10.00%), and UHOMREIT (-9.95%) shed some weight.
Analysts say reassuring statements by billionaire majority stakeholder of FIRSTHOLDCO, Femi Otedola lifted company’s shares despite its 92% profit drop to N45 billion in its 2025 unaudited results, the result of a N748 billion write-off of legacy bad loans, part of clean-up ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) March 2026 recapitalization deadline.
Meanwhile, the total volume of trades declined by 6.8% to 710.73 million units, valued at N24.00 billion, and exchanged in 45,500 deals. GTCO was the most traded stock by volume and value at 65.90 million units and NGN6.53 billion, respectively.
Sectoral performance was mixed as the Banking (+1.3%) and Industrial Goods (+0.7%) indices closed higher, while the Insurance (-1.3%), Consumer Goods (-0.2%) and Oil & Gas (-0.2%) indices declined.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive (1.1x), as 35 tickers gained relative to 33 losers. UNIONDICON (+10.0%) and AUSTINLAZ (+10.0%) led the gainers, while CUTIX (-10.0%) and OMATEK (-10.0%) posted the most significant losses of the day.
The NASD market rebounded today, as the NASD Securities Index and market capitalisation gained 0.96% to settle at 3,641.30 points and N2.17trn, respectively.
Market activity improved significantly, with transaction volume and value rising by 82.50% and 5.22%, respectively.
On the performance board, SDAIRLIQ (+9.08%) led the gainers, while SDGEFLUID (-0.52%) topped the decliners’ chart for the session.
At the currency market, the naira appreciated at the NAFEM window by 0.8% to N1,380.00/US$1, reflecting stability supported by improved FX supply and tighter demand management.
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