The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the May 6, 2026, session on a positive note, advancing 0.41% to settle at 242,729.5, up from the previous day’s close of 241,750.15, with Airtel Africa topping the gainers’ chart.
The upward movement was supported by stronger trading activity, as total volume rose to 1.4 million units exchanged across 85,804 deals, exceeding the prior session’s 1.2 million units.
This activity translated into a total market value of N59.4 billion, with overall market capitalization rebounding to N155.7 trillion from N155.1 trillion recorded in the previous session.
On the activity chart, CWG dominated both volume and value, recording 421.6 million units traded and leading turnover with transactions worth N8.8 billion.
What the data is saying
Trading sentiment strengthened on May 6, 2026, as the year-to-date return edged higher to 55.98%, up slightly from 55.4% recorded in the previous trading session.
- On the gainers’ chart, Airtel Africa and Chemical & Allied led the advance, posting gains of 10.00% and 9.99%, respectively, to top the day’s performers.
- However, bearish pressure surfaced in select counters, with Sunu Assurances and Guinness leading the laggards after declining by 10.00% and 9.99%, respectively.
In terms of trading activity, CWG dominated the volume chart with 421.6 million shares exchanged, followed by Access Holdings at 85.4 million units and Chams at 83.3 million units.
- Secure Electronic Technology recorded a turnover of 59.7 million shares, while Zenith Bank followed with 56.02 million shares.
On the value chart, CWG led with transactions worth N8.8 billion, ahead of MTNN at N7.5 billion, while Zenith Bank, GTCO, and Dangote Sugar posted N7.1 billion, N6.2 billion, and N4.1 billion, respectively.
Top 5 Gainers
- Airtel Africa — up 10.00% to N3,323
- Chemical & Allied — up 9.99% to N193.20
- Zichis — up 9.97% to N27.58
- RT Briscoe — up 9.95% to N14.15
- DeaP Capital — up 9.92% to N5.54
Top 5 Losers
- Sunu Assurances — down 10.00% to N4.05
- Guinness — down 9.99% to N402.60
- Caverton — down 8.33% to N5.50
- Fortis Global Insurance — down 7.69% to N1.08
- May & Baker — down 6.82% to N41.00
SWOOTs Performance
Among SWOOTs, performance was largely positive, with Dangote Sugar advancing 8.42%, Wema Bank gaining 5.44%, and International Breweries posting a modest increase of 1.57%.
On the downside, MTN Nigeria declined by 4.29%, while Nigerian Breweries recorded a marginal dip of 0.06%.
FUGAZ Performance
Within the FUGAZ banking group, sentiment leaned positive as First HoldCo advanced 1.58% and Zenith Bank posted a modest gain of 0.62%.
On the downside, UBA declined by 2.38% and Access Holdings slipped 1.20%, while GTCO closed unchanged, reflecting a mixed but slightly cautious tone across tier-one lenders.
What You Should Know
The equities market remains below the 243,000 threshold it recently slipped from, with a break above 243,161, last recorded on May 4, likely to reinforce continued bullish momentum.
- While positive sentiment in large-cap counters could support further gains, the market still appears overbought, suggesting a cautious outlook despite the recent upward movement.
Sector performance was broadly positive, as the NGX Insurance index rose 0.62%, the Banking index gained 0.51%, the Consumer Goods index advanced 0.26%, and the Industrial Goods index edged up 0.05%.
However, the NGX Oil and Gas index recorded a marginal decline of 0.01%, standing out as the only sector to close in negative territory.
