The Nigerian Exchange enjoyed an impressive run in February 2026, climbing 16.60% to close at 192,826.8 points and moving ever closer to the key 200,000 milestone.
Tracked by the All-Share Index, the surge marks a third straight month of gains since November 2025’s dip and stands as the strongest monthly performance since the 35.28% rally of January 2024.
Over the month’s four trading weeks, the market closed the first three in positive territory, surging past 194,000 in the penultimate week before a mild 1.11% decline brought the index back to 192,826.8.
So far this year, the market is up 23.91%, with over 36 billion shares traded, driven mainly by strong buying interest in industrial, oil and gas, and banking heavyweight stocks.
What the trading data is saying
Trading data from the Nigerian Exchange shows the NGX Oil and Gas sector led February’s performance, rising 33.63% to close at 4,060.7 points.
Having started the month at 3,038.8 points, this represents a 1,021.9-point gain, with market volume exceeding 1.6 billion shares.
- Heavyweight stocks driving the rally included Aradel (38.94%) and Seplat (35.82%).
- In the mid-cap space, Japaul Gold surged 58.20%, while Eterna rose 6.65% and Oando gained 3.21%, contributing to the sector’s overall strong performance.
The NGX Industrial Goods sector followed, climbing 22.20% to break the 7,000-point barrier for the first time, closing at 7,314.6 with over 559 million shares traded.
- The surge was led by large-cap cement stocks, including Lafarge (27.39%), Dangote Cement (22.68%), and BUA Cement (19.67%).
- Other counters supporting broader gains included Chemical & Allied (25.85%), Berger Paints (23.33%), Beta Glass (18.69%), Austin Laz (18.21%), and Cutix (4.38%).
Beyond Oil & Gas and Industrial Goods, other sectors also posted solid performances, reflecting broad-based market strength.
Other sector performance
The NGX Banking sector was the third-best performer, rising (16.67%) to close at 1,892.1 points, with over 7.6 billion shares changing hands.
- Among tier-one banks, Zenith Bank (27.36%), First HoldCo (19.89%), GTCO (18.18%), Access Holdings (17.26%), and UBA (10.16%) recorded solid gains.
- Tier-two banks also contributed, with Jaiz Bank (57.88%), FCMB (25.23%), Sterling (16.44%), Wema Bank (15.38%), Stanbic IBTC (12.96%), and Fidelity Bank (7.26%) performing well.
The NGX Consumer Goods sector followed, rising (6.51%) with over 1 billion shares traded, led by mid-cap stocks, while Nigerian Breweries (1.46%) was the only heavyweight to gain.
- Major performers included Nascon Allied Industries (44.69%), Nestle Nigeria (43.93%), McNichols (33.39%), PZ Cussons (28.57%), Dangote Sugar (27.62%), Vitafoam (26.93%), Unilever (21.67%), and Honeywell Flour (2.48%).
The NGX Insurance sector was the weakest performer, up just 2.31% to 1,359.9, led by Universal Insurance (23.33%), AXA Mansard (15.80%), Lasaco Assurance (15.67%), and Mutual Benefits (13.64%).
What to know
The All-Share Index is inching closer to the 200,000 threshold, and further rallies in large-cap stocks could push it higher.
- February 2026 was the market’s best-performing month since January 2024.
- Mid-cap stocks drove most gains in the Consumer Goods sector, while a resurgence in large-cap counters may benefit the broader index.
The market is currently overbought across major timeframes and could witness a retracement, which investors might capitalize on.
