FRI AUG 07 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market posted a marginal gain on Thursday, with the ASI rising 0.12% as FIRSTHOLDCO, FCMB and WEMABANK advanced 2.19%, 8.55% and 6.23%, respectively.
However, negative breadth and weaker volumes point to cautious sentiment.
Banking performance was mixed, with selective buying in FCMB and WEMABANK offsetting declines in ETI and UBA.
Market capitalisation rose by 0.12% to N158.28 trillion, while the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return edged higher to 57.58%, from 57.39% in the previous session.
The positive performance was driven by gains in FIRSTHOLDCO (+2.19%), FCMB (+8.55%) and WEMABANK (+6.23%), which more than offset declines in ETI (-9.99%), UBA (-2.03%) and MAYBAKER (-7.50%).
Trading activity moderated during the session, with total traded volume declining by 35.47% to 531.77mn units, while transaction value fell by 19.68% to N20.46 billion.
FCMB (+8.55%) led the volume chart with 131.74mn units traded, while FIRSTHOLDCO (+2.19%) topped the value chart with N5.95 billion worth of transactions.
Market breadth remained negative at 0.64x, with twenty-three (23) gainers against thirty-six (36) losers, indicating that the market’s marginal advance was driven by gains in a handful of large-cap stocks.
ETERNA (+10.00%) emerged as the session’s top gainer, while ETI (-9.99%) recorded the steepest decline.
The NASD OTC market closed the session on a positive note, with the NASD Security Index (NSI) advancing by 2.05% to 4,657.59 points.
Consequently, market capitalisation rose by 2.05% to N2.80 trillion, while the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return improved to 31.43%, from 28.79% in the previous session.
Trading activity strengthened significantly during the session, with total traded volume surging by 360,690.40% to 2.89 million units, while transaction value increased by 47,518.04% to N99.16mn. A total of 62 trades were executed during the session.
SD11PLC and SDMRS led the gainers’ chart, both advancing by 9.09%, while SDOKITIPUPA emerged as the session’s top laggard, declining by 11.11%.
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