NGX market capitalization hits record N163.06 trillion as ASI rises 0.23%

Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) market capitalisation reached a record N163 trillion on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 as trading activity recorded high market participation.

The figure marks a 0.23% increase from 162.68 trillion recorded on Tuesday.

Total equity trading volume reached 1.59 billion shares (1,590,482,405 shares) executed across 49,736 deals, driven by sustained buying pressure in key banking and tier-one equities.

Correspondingly, the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 0.23% (+576.36 points) to close at 251,191.02 points, marking its highest index level for the trading week.

Market summary

• All-Share Index (ASI): Advanced to 251,191.02 points, up 0.23% from 250,614.66
• Market capitalisation: Reached N163.06 trillion, up 0.23% from N162.68 trillion
• Market value gained: N374.14 billion
• Trading volume: 1.59 billion shares, up 89.91% from 837,217,438 shares
• Total deals: 49,736, down 4.45% from 52,054 deals

Top 5 Gainers

• ETERNA Plc: Up 10.00% to close at N38.50 from N35
• Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc: Up 9.88% to N2.78 from N2.53
• Critical Minerals Financing Corp Plc: Up 9.76% to N2.70 from N2.46
• Haldane McCall Plc: Up 9.70% to N3.28 from N2.99
• Omatek Ventures Plc: Up 9.63% to N1.48 from N 1.35

Top 5 Losers

• Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc: Down 9.09% to N4.00 from N4.40
• University Press Plc: Down 9.00% to N4.55 from N 5.00
• WAPIC: Down 6.30% to N2.23 from N2.38
• Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc: Shed 5.45% to N1.04 from N1.10
• United Capital Plc: Down 5.00% to N17.10 from N18

Driving the numbers

Trading volume was heavily concentrated on the Main Board, which accounted for 1.46 billion shares (1,460,714,574 shares) in 31,617 deals. The Premium Board contributed 113.01 million shares (113,013,890 shares) across 15,135 deals.

Among other segments, the Non-Interest Finance Board recorded 8.01 million shares in 1,303 trades, while the Growth Board generated 5.54 million shares across 926 deals. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Closed-End Funds recorded 3.21 million shares in 755 deals.

Outside equities, Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) recorded 422,765 units traded across 1,373 deals, while the debt market logged 11,119 bond units in 9 trades.

The day’s volume chart was dominated by Fortis Global Insurance Plc, which saw 860.31 million shares traded in 164 deals.

In the banking sector, Fidelity Bank Plc led liquidity with 170.72 million shares traded in 714 deals, followed by Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) with 86.19 million shares across 3,220 trades.

Other heavily traded equities included Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (36.49 million shares), Chams Holding Company Plc (35.34 million shares), Zenith Bank Plc (32.86 million shares), E-Tranzact International Plc (30.38 million shares), and United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) (29.01 million shares).

Sectoral performance

Sectoral performance across the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on September 23, 2026, was bullish, driven by strong buying interest in financial, insurance, and consumer stocks.

• The NGX Banking Index advanced to 2,748.63 points from Tuesday’s 2,725.39 points, while the NGX Premium Index climbed to 31,818.49 points from 31,679.41 points.
• Positive momentum also returned to the insurance space as the NGX Insurance Index rebounded to 1,093.23 points from 1,081.54 points.
• Additionally, the NGX Consumer Goods Index expanded to 4,092.56 points (up from 4,085.44), the NGX Pension Index moved up to 13,310.48 points (up from 13,252.35), and the NGX Oil/Gas Index edged higher to 6,014.43 points from 6,010.75 points.

In contrast to the broader market advance, the NGX Industrial Index recorded a minor contraction, dipping to 10,463.54 points from 10,479.35 points on Tuesday, influenced by slight price pullbacks in heavyweights like Dangote Cement Plc (-0.12%) and HBM Nigeria Plc (-0.53%).

On the growth segment, the NGX Growth Index rose to 26,695.68 points from 26,596.28 points. Meanwhile, sovereign debt and commodity benchmarks reflected complete price stability, with the NGX Sovereign Bond Index holding steady at 669.43 points and the NGX Commodity Index closing unchanged at 1,893.47 points.

Market breadth

Market breadth closed firmly positive as broad-based buying sentiment dominated the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), resulting in 43 equities posting price appreciation against 20 decliners.

• The bullish performance was led by ETERNA Plc, which hit the maximum daily gain limit of 10.00% (+N3.50) to close at N38.50. It was closely followed by Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc, which surged 9.88% (+N0.25) to N2.78, and Critical Minerals Financing Corp Plc, which advanced 9.76% (+N0.24) to end at N2.70.
• Other advancers included Haldane McCall Plc (+9.70%), Omatek Ventures Plc (+9.63%), and John Holt Plc (+9.59%). A similar positive sentiment extended to the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) segment, where gainers outnumbered losers 7 to 5, spearheaded by Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 with a 10.00% gain.

On the flip side, profit-taking and price contractions were limited to 20 equities. Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc led the decliners’ chart after shedding 9.09% (-N0.40) to close at N4.00, while University Press Plc dropped 9.00% (-N0.45) to finish at N4.55.

Other notable equities on the losers’ table included Coronation Insurance Plc (WAPIC) (-6.30% to N2.23), Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc (-5.45% to N1.04), and United Capital Plc (-5.00% to N17.10). In contrast to the equities and ETF boards, the debt market recorded complete price stability, logging zero gainers and zero losers across all listed fixed-income and bond instruments for the session.

What you should know

The latest market cap record comes barely one week after the NGX market cap hit N162 trillion for the first time ever.

Before then, the last time the NGX hit an all-time high was on May 13, when it hit N161.8 trillion.