The Nigerian equities market ended the 17 April 2026 session firmly in the green, closing at 217,167.57 with 1.2 million shares traded, as Access Holdings, MTNN, First Holdco, Ecobank, and others advanced.
Posting a 2.49% gain, the All-Share Index strengthened from the prior close of 211,901.01, adding 5,266.56 points to the benchmark.
Equity market capitalisation expanded to N139.8 trillion from N136.4 trillion, with 56,923 deals executed across the trading session.
Aradel and Zenith Bank topped the value chart at N9.7 billion and N8.8 billion, respectively, while daily turnover settled at N54.3 billion.
What the data is saying
Trading sentiment stayed firmly bullish on 17 April 2026, with the Nigerian market sustaining a 39.6% year-to-date return, indicating continued investor confidence.
- Nigerian Aviation Handling Company and Trans Nationwide Express led the gainers’ chart, each posting the maximum 10.00% price appreciation for the session.
- Profit-taking pressures emerged at the margin, as Mecure and Honeywell Flour Mill declined by 9.96% and 9.52% respectively, despite the overall positive market tone.
Sterling dominated activity with 383.8 million shares traded, followed by Access Holdings at 90.2 million and Zenith Bank at 70.7 million shares.
UBA recorded 54.5 million shares while Japaul Gold saw 44.4 million shares exchange hands, reflecting broad-based participation across key counters.
On value traded, Aradel led with N9.7 billion, followed by Zenith Bank at N8.8 billion and Seplat at N3.9 billion, with Dangote Cement and GTCO posting N3.4 billion and N3.3 billion, respectively.
Top 5 gainers
- Nigerian Aviation — up 10.00% to N220.00
- Trans Nationwide Express — up 10.00% to N6.05
- Ecobank Transnational — up 9.97% to N67.30
- Access Holdings — up 9.93% to N29.90
- Daar Communications — up 9.64% to N1.82
Top 5 losers
- Mecure — down 9.96% to N60.60
- Honeywell Flour — down 9.52% to N19.00
- Abbey Mortgage Bank — down 9.50% to N8.10
- E-Tranzact — down 9.27% to N18.60
- Caverton — down 9.02% to N5.55
SWOOTs performance
Among trillion-naira stocks, Ecobank led with a 9.97% surge, followed by MTN Nigeria up 9.27% and Aradel advancing 6.56%, while BUA Foods gained 3.33% and Dangote Cement inched higher by 1.60%, keeping the heavyweight pack firmly in the green.
On the flip side, Wema Bank slipped 1.45%, reflecting mild pressure within the segment.
FUGAZ performance
FUGAZ names closed strongly positive, with Access Holdings rallying 9.93% and First Holdco up 9.50%, while UBA gained 4.35%, Zenith Bank added 1.61%, and GTCO posted a marginal 0.39% uptick, rounding out a broadly bullish banking session.
What you should know
The 17 April rally was anchored by sustained buying in large-cap banking and heavyweight counters, which drove overall market breadth higher.
The All-Share Index print of 217,167.57 marks a fresh historic high for the Nigerian equities market.
If momentum holds, the benchmark could steadily push toward the 220,000 level in the near term.
