WED SEPT 16 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities rose on Tuesday as investors digested fresh inflation data showing a marginal easing in price pressures, while the naira weakened against the dollar.
The NGX All-Share Index gained 0.41% to 244,304.51 points, lifting the market’s year-to-date return to 56.99%.
Market capitalisation rose by 0.41% to N158.40 trillion. The benchmark’s advance extended its recent run of gains, with buying interest concentrated in financial and energy-related stocks.
NGX Group led the gainers, rising 9.95%, while Aradel Holdings added 9.62% and International Breweries gained 8.50%.
Those moves more than offset declines in Ecobank Transnational, which fell 10%, PZ Cussons Nigeria, down 9.52%, and Honeywell Flour, which lost 7.14%.
Trading activity strengthened, with 521.15 million shares changing hands for N37.28 billion, according to market data.
Market breadth remained positive, with 35 stocks advancing against 28 decliners.
Aradel accounted for N6.35 billion of traded value, while Mbenefit was the most actively traded stock by volume.
The gains came as the National Bureau of Statistics reported that headline inflation eased to 15.39% in August from 15.43% in July.
More significantly, month-on-month inflation slowed to 0.71% from 1.57%, while food inflation fell to 19.57% year on year from 20.31% in July.
The data point to a continued moderation in the pace of price increases, although the annual inflation rate remains elevated and food prices are still rising.
Core inflation also eased to 13.29% in August from 14.97% in July.
The naira, meanwhile, weakened 0.3% to N1,330.40 per dollar, adding a note of caution to an otherwise firmer domestic-asset session.
In the over-the-counter market, the NASD Securities Index had gained 1.86% in the previous session to 4,555.42 points, taking market capitalisation to N2.73 trillion and the year-to-date return to 28.55%.
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