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.
NCR (Nigeria) Plc occupied the third spot, returning 173.73% to investors in January 2026. The tech stock opened the month at N72.70, with over 3 million shares traded, and closed at N199 by the final trading day.
The first week was largely flat, but momentum picked up in the second week. By the third week, the stock had broken past N100, and in the fourth week, it surged beyond N150, driving the bulk of January’s gains.
The rally was likely driven by NCR’s financial recovery, reversing a N2.1 billion loss to a N196 million profit in 2025, as administrative and distribution costs shrunk, boosting investor confidence.
The analysis above is quite impressive and mind blowing increase in the stock market industry.