FUGAZ banks rescue stock market with N237.8 billion gains first week of August

The Nigerian equities market closed the trading week on a bullish note on Friday, August 7, 2026, adding about N237.8 billion to market capitalisation as gains in the FUGAZ banking stocks outweighed losses across several other sectors.

The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose 0.15% to close at 245,573.60 points, up from 245,209.34 points in the previous session.

Market capitalisation increased to N158.51 trillion from N158.28 trillion, while the market’s year-to-date return improved to 57.81%.

The rally was driven largely by strong buying interest in FUGAZ banking stocks, Nairametrics acronym for First HoldCo, UBA, GTCO, Access Holdings, Zenith Bank (with the exception of GTCO Plc, which closed flat), while FCMB and Fidelity Bank provided additional support.

Market summary:

• All-Share Index (ASI): 245,573.60 points, up +0.15%.
• Market capitalisation: N158.51 trillion, up +0.15%.
• Year-to-date (YTD) market return: +57.81%.
• Total deals: 42,580, down 5.01%.
• Trading volume: 1.52 billion shares, up 185.55%.
• Market turnover (value traded): N26.65 billion, up 30.27%.
• Market breadth: 22 stocks gained, while 24 declined.

Top 5 Gainers:

• UPDC: up +9.23% to N3.55, from N3.25.
• CWG: up +6.56% to N19.50, from N18.30.
• MANSARD: up +4.80% to N13.10, from N12.50.
• Neimeth: up +4.24% to N8.60, from N8.25.
• Cutix: up +4.00% to N2.60, from N2.50.

Top 5 Losers:

• Red Star Express: down -10.00% to N18.00, from N20.00.
• CAP Plc: down -9.98% to N115.45, from N128.25.
• John Holt: down -9.82% to N10.10, from N11.20.
• ABC Transport: down -9.57% to N5.20, from N5.75.
• Legend Internet: down -8.70% to N4.20, from N4.60.

Driving the numbers:

The session’s gains were anchored by major banking heavyweights providing the bulk of support for the benchmark index.

• First HoldCo led the banking rally, advancing 3.86% to N145.40 from N140.00, gaining N5.40 per share and trading above its 52-week high.
• Access Holdings gained 3.26% to N26.95 from N26.10, while UBA advanced 3.22% to N44.90 from N43.50.
• Zenith Bank added 1.61% to N126.00 from N124.00, while FCMB Group rose 1.97% to N12.95 from N12.70.

The banking rally provided significant support to the broader market, with investors continuing to favour large-cap financial stocks.

However, gains were moderated by losses among several heavyweight stocks.

• HBM Nigeria, formerly Lafarge Africa, declined 2.01% to N360.00 from N367.40, while Custodian Investment fell 3.61% to N72.10 from N74.80.
• NEM Insurance declined 2.74% to N32.00, while Oando dropped 1.24% to N35.75.

Transcorp also slipped 0.51% to N39.00 from N39.20.

Sector performance:

Sectoral performance was mixed, with the Banking Index emerging as the strongest performer.

• The Banking Index surged 1.53% to 2,586.38 points, extending the sector’s role as the main driver of the market’s recent recovery.
• The Consumer Goods Index closed flat at 4,328.65 points, while the Insurance Index declined 0.21% to 1,160.35 points.
• The Oil & Gas Index fell 0.04% to 5,240.85 points, while the Industrial Index declined 0.37% to 10,507.25 points.
• The Commodity Index remained unchanged at 1,743.53 points.

Market breadth remained negative, with 24 decliners outpacing 22 gainers, indicating that the headline index gain was concentrated largely in heavyweight banking stocks.

Trading activity:

Trading activity strengthened significantly during the session.

• Total volume traded surged 185.55% to 1.52 billion shares.
• Total value settled at N26.65 billion, up 30.27%.
• However, the number of transactions declined 5.01% to 42,580 deals.
• FTG Insurance was the most traded stock by volume, with 824.46 million shares, accounting for more than half of total market volume.

Access Holdings led by value with N4.67 billion worth of transactions, representing 17.52% of total market value.

What you should know:

Friday’s market performance underscores the growing influence of banking heavyweights — First HoldCo, UBA, GTCO, Access Holdings and Zenith Bank — on the direction of the Nigerian equities market with First HoldCo, Access Holdings, UBA and Zenith Bank all recording gains.

• The strong performance of these banking heavyweights helped the NGX recover from the week’s earlier weakness and close at 245,573.60 points, its highest level since the beginning of the week.
• The market moved between a weekly high of 245,730.53 points, recorded on Monday, and a low of 244,802.83 points, recorded on Tuesday, before recovering through the remainder of the week.
• The continued strength of banking stocks, particularly the FUGAZ names, suggests that investors remain positioned towards large-cap financial stocks as the market enters the second week of August.

Despite the positive headline performance, market breadth remained negative, suggesting that gains were concentrated in a relatively small number of large-cap stocks rather than reflecting a broad-based rally.

Looking ahead, the market could sustain its bullish bias if banking heavyweights maintain their momentum, although persistent selling pressure across Industrial, Insurance and other counters could continue to limit the breadth of the rally.