The Nigerian Exchange delivered a strong start to 2026, gaining 6.27% in January as the All-Share Index rose by 9,757.4 points to close at 165,370.4.
This performance is a big step up from January 2025, when the index gained just 1.53%, showing stronger early-year momentum as market value climbed to N106.1 trillion.
Beyond price gains, trading activity improved, with over 15 billion shares exchanged versus 12 billion in January 2025, reflecting stronger investor participation.
The rally was driven by standout individual stocks, with the top 10 names posting gains of over 80%, highlighting the breadth of the market’s advance.
During the first three trading weeks of January, the market pushed the index above 166,000 for the first time ever, before a mild pullback in the final two weeks trimmed some gains.
Still, despite the late-month decline, returns among the top-performing stocks remained exceptional. Here are the top 10 stocks.
Red Star Express Plc occupied the fifth position, returning 139.08% to investors in January 2026. The logistics company started the month at N8.70 and ended at N20.80, with more than 20 million shares traded.
Trading was steady throughout the five weeks, with the last three driving most of the rally as investors likely priced the company’s improved financials.
The company’s nine-month results (April–December 2025) showed pre-tax profit grew to N1.02 billion from N570.2 million the previous year.
Revenue increased 11.36% to N17.3 billion, driven largely by courier services at N8.2 billion, freight at N3.8 billion, and logistics at N3 billion.
The analysis above is quite impressive and mind blowing increase in the stock market industry.