The Nigerian equities market delivered an impressive performance in the trading week ended 13 February 2026, rising 10,585.59 points to close at 182,313.08, supported by strong positive sentiment.
This performance translates to a 6.16% week-on-week increase from the previous close of 171,727.49, as the market broke above the 180,000 mark for the first time in its history.
Trading activity strengthened during the week, with 4.6 billion shares exchanged in 286,751 deals, up from 3.8 billion shares in the previous week, while market capitalization rose by over 6% to close at N117.02 trillion.
Market breadth improved further, as 79 stocks recorded price gains during the week, up from 71 in the previous week. In contrast, 27 stocks declined in price, fewer than the 35 recorded in the preceding week.
What the data is saying
Market data points to a rally backed by strong participation, not just rising prices.
All-Share Index closed in positive territory on every trading day in the week ended 13 February, decisively breaking through the 180,000 psychological threshold.
- The week opened on a strong note, with the index advancing by 2,224.6 points on Monday.
- Momentum extended into Tuesday as the market gained 1.64% to close at 176,806, crossing 175,000, while recording the week’s highest volume of 1.05 billion shares.
- Although gains moderated on Wednesday and Thursday, bullish sentiment remained intact.
- By Friday, market participation intensified once again, pushing the index past the 180,000 milestone to close at 182,313.1.
The rally was largely driven by the NGX Premium Index, which surged an impressive 10.63%.
- Heavyweight stocks recorded strong double-digit gains, including MTNN (+14.32%), Seplat (+13.98%), Lafarge Africa (+12.87%), and Zenith Bank (+10.00%).
- Other notable advances were recorded in UBA (+9.28%), Access Holdings (+7.83%), Dangote Cement (+6.81%), and First HoldCo (+2.45%).
Broad market indices also reflected the strength of the rally, with the NGX 30 Index climbing 6.25%, while the NGX Main Board Index rose 3.64%.
Sectoral performance
All sectors closed the week in positive territory, led by the NGX Oil & Gas Index, which surged 11.40%.
- The rally was largely driven by Seplat’s 13.98% gain and Aradel’s 10.78% advance, while JapaulGold (6.81%) recorded moderate gains and Oando rose 2.04%.
The NGX Industrial Goods Index also finished strongly, up 7.09%, supported by a 12.87% rally in Lafarge Africa, a 6.81% gain in Dangote Cement, and a 4.92% increase in BUA Cement.
- Among mid-cap industrial counters, Chemical & Allied climbed 32.93%, while Meyer, Berger Paints, and Beta Glass all closed in positive territory.
The NGX Banking Index advanced 5.84%, as bullish momentum swept across both Tier-1 and Tier-2 banking stocks.
Meanwhile, the NGX Consumer Goods and NGX Insurance indices recorded modest gains of 2.95% and 0.65%, respectively, rounding off a broadly positive week across sectors.
Top gainers
The top-performing stocks for the week were:
- Zichis Agro Allied Industries Plc: up 60.71% to N10.80
- Union Dicon Salt Plc: up 60.15% to N20.90
- Daar Communications Plc: up 55.26% to N2.95
- Fortis Global Insurance Plc: up 50.00% to N0.39
- John Holt Plc: up 45.21% to N10.60
- Red Star Express Plc: up 42.57% to N24.45
- RT Briscoe Plc: up 37.93% to N17.42
- E-Tranzact International Plc: up 36.20% to N22.95
- Secure Electronic Technology Plc: up 34.82% to N1.51
- Chemical & Allied Products Plc: up 32.93% to N109.00
Top losers
- The week’s worst-performing stocks included:
- Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc: down 26.42% to N11.00
- Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc: down 17.16% to N2.80
- Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc: down 13.29% to N45.00
- Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc: down 11.59% to N135.00
- Austin Laz & Company Plc: down 11.11% to N4.80
- Guinness Nigeria Plc: down 9.97% to N315.00
- CWG Plc: down 9.70% to N22.80
- Tripple Gee and Company Plc: down 8.90% to N6.65
- International Energy Insurance Plc: down 7.56% to N3.30
- Champion Brewery Plc: down 7.30% to N17.15
Corporate actions overview
The week featured a wave of corporate disclosures:
- Industrial & Medical Gases, May & Baker, Coronation Insurance, Okomu Oil, and Nigerian Breweries all published their FY2025 results.
- Tantalizers secured a N2 billion investment to scale its entertainment subsidiary.
- Deap Capital also received N1 billion in fresh capital from Bank Link Africa to strengthen its balance sheet and operations.
- In the insurance and pharmaceutical space, Sunu Assurance’s board approved a rights issue to raise N9.33 billion, while Neimeth announced plans to raise N20 billion to accelerate its expansion strategy.
Why this matters
The 6.16% weekly gain reflects stronger bullish participation compared to the 3.84% advance recorded in the previous week.
- With the All-Share Index breaking above the 180,000 threshold and climbing to 182,000, sustained momentum in large-cap stocks could push the market toward the 185,000 level in the coming sessions.
- However, despite the strength in heavyweight counters, technical indicators suggest the market is overbought, raising the risk of a short-term retracement if buying momentum in large-cap stocks begins to fade.
Well-timed positions in fundamentally strong large-cap stocks that are beginning to build momentum could provide opportunities that align with the market’s broader upward trend.
