Best performing Nigerian stocks for the week ended September 18, 2026

The Nigerian equities market closed the week at a record N162.157 trillion in market capitalisation, surpassing the previous all-time high of N161.8 trillion set on May 13, 2026, as the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) gained 2.78% week-on-week to close at 249,804.56 points from 243,052.74 points.

The rally was powered by a significant wave of investor participation, with 525,991,720 shares exchanged across 44,239 distinct deals in the final session alone on Friday, September 18.

UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust and Sovereign Trust Insurance led the gainers’ chart with sharp double-digit rallies, while Nigerian Exchange Group extended its recent run to close among the week’s strongest performers, helping lift market breadth decisively positive after several weeks of negative sentiment.

UPDC REIT topped the gainers’ chart with a 34.91% week-on-week gain to N18.55, while Sovereign Trust Insurance climbed 30.95% to N2.20 and Mutual Benefits Assurance advanced 22.03% to N3.60, providing the strongest pockets of momentum in a week where 52 equities appreciated in price.

What the data is saying:

Market breadth turned sharply positive for the week, with 52 equities appreciating against 32 that depreciated, a marked improvement from the previous week’s nine gainers against 80 losers.

• A total turnover of 3.249 billion shares worth N237.986 billion was traded in 287,919 deals, compared with 3.647 billion shares worth N130.151 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 244,777 deals.
• The Financial Services Industry again led activity by volume, with 2.581 billion shares worth N97.212 billion traded in 138,900 deals, contributing 79.43% of total volume and 40.85% of total value.
• The Services Industry followed with 131.102 million shares worth N2.731 billion in 15,084 deals.
• The ICT Industry ranked third with 114.622 million shares worth N21.541 billion in 29,152 deals.

The top three stocks by volume, Fidelity Bank, Sterling Financial Holdings, and Mutual Benefits Assurance, accounted for 1.229 billion shares worth N15.942 billion in 7,796 deals, contributing 37.83% of total volume and 6.70% of total value.

Sixty-three equities remained unchanged during the week, higher than the 58 recorded previously.

Market summary for the week:

• All-Share Index: 249,804.56 points, up +2.78% week-on-week from 243,052.74 points.
• Market capitalisation: N162.157 trillion, up +2.90% week-on-week from N157.587 trillion — a record high.
• Volume Traded: 3.249 billion shares, down from 3.647 billion shares previously.
• Value Traded: N237.986 billion, up from N130.151 billion previously.
• Total Deals: 287,919 deals, up from 244,777 deals previously.

Sectoral performance:

Sectoral performance was broadly positive during the week, with all indices finishing higher except the NGX Growth Index, which depreciated 0.14%.

• The Consumer Goods Index was the standout performer, gaining +4.87% to close at 7,484.58 points.
• The Banking Index followed with a +4.43% advance to 2,640.90 points, taking its year-to-date return to 74.22%.
• The Insurance Index rose +3.79% to 1,099.33 points, although its YTD performance remained negative at -7.57%.
• The Oil/Gas Index gained +3.71% to 6,033.10 points, remaining the strongest YTD sector in the table at +125.94%.
• The Industrial Goods Index advanced +3.12% to 10,306.65 points, with a YTD return of 81.57%.
• The Commodity Index rose +1.24% to close at 1,912.16 points.

The NGX Premium Index was the best weekly performer overall, up 5.06%, while the ASI’s 2.78% weekly gain lifted its year-to-date return to 60.53%.

Top 10 Best-Performing Stocks:

• UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust: N18.55, up 34.91% from N13.75.
• Sovereign Trust Insurance: N2.20, up 30.95% from N1.68.
• Mutual Benefits Assurance: N3.60, up 22.03% from N2.95.
• Nigerian Exchange Group: N179.90, up 21.55% from N148.00.
• First HoldCo: N160.00, up 17.65% from N136.00.
• McNichols Consolidated: N5.20, up 16.85% from N4.45.
• Livestock Feeds: N8.00, up 16.79% from N6.85.
• Fortis Global Insurance: N1.65, up 13.79% from N1.45.
• Consolidated Hallmark Holdings: N7.37, up 13.38% from N6.50.
• NPF Microfinance Bank: N4.00, up 11.11% from N3.60.

Top 10 Worst-Performing Stocks:

• Transcorp Power: N178.00, down 18.94% from N219.60.
• John Holt: N7.30, down 18.89% from N9.00.
• Ellah Lakes: N8.35, down 18.14% from N10.20.
• LivingTrust Mortgage Bank: N2.60, down 17.46% from N3.15.
• Omatek Ventures: N1.20, down 12.41% from N1.37.
• PZ Cussons Nigeria: N73.60, down 11.33% from N83.00.
• Learn Africa: N8.00, down 11.11% from N9.00.
• Industrial & Medical Gases Nigeria: N27.65, down 9.93% from N30.70.
• Ecobank Transnational Incorporated: N67.00, down 9.46% from N74.00.
• Cadbury Nigeria: N53.00, down 9.32% from N58.45.

Corporate actions:

Two corporate listings were added to the Exchange during the week:

• Abbey Bank Plc’s Private Placement of 26,562,647,265 ordinary shares at N2.43 per share, listed on September 17, taking the bank’s total issued shares from 10,153,846,154 to 36,716,493,419.

Critical Minerals Financing Corporation Plc’s listing of 1,068,980,259 ordinary shares at N1.69 per share, arising from the conversion of N1,806,576,637 debt to equity, listed on September 17, taking the company’s total issued shares to 2,569,640,259.

What you should know:

Notably, several of the week’s biggest gainers — Nigerian Exchange Group, First HoldCo, and Mutual Benefits Assurance — had featured among the previous week’s worst-hit sectors, suggesting a broad reversal of the profit-taking pressure that dominated trading ahead of the Dangote Refinery IPO’s opening.

• Friday’s record close means the NGX has now surpassed its previous all-time high of N161.8 trillion, set on May 13, 2026, with the market capitalisation gain of N4.57 trillion for the week reflecting the scale of the turnaround from the sell-off recorded earlier in September.

Looking ahead, market sentiment will likely continue to reflect the interplay between the ongoing IPO subscription window, which runs through October 13, and Nigeria’s reclassification to Frontier Market status by FTSE Russell, effective from September 21.