Nigerian equities extend bull run as market cap gains N622 billion

Equity trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed on a strong bullish note on September 24, 2026, propelled by massive trading activity that saw investors exchange 978.21 million shares.

The heightened market volume pushed total market capitalisation up by N622.51 billion in a single session, lifting the overall equity market valuation from N163.06 trillion to N163.68 trillion.

Concurrently, the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 958.99 index points (+0.38%) to settle at 252,150.01 points, up from Wednesday’s closing level of 251,191.02 points.

During intraday trading, the index hit a high of 252,150.01 points against a low of 249,804.56 points, reflecting sustained demand across key industrial and energy counters.

Market summary

• All-Share Index (ASI): Advanced to 252,150.01 points, up +0.38% from 251,191.02
• Market Cap: Reached N163.68 trillion, up +0.38% from N163.06 trillion
• Market value gained: N622 billion
• Total volume: 978.21 million shares, down 38.48% from 1.59 billion shares
• Total deals: 48,459 deals, down 2.57% from 49,736 deals
• Market breadth: 28 gainers / 24 losers

Top 5 gainers

• Critical Minerals Financing Corp Plc (CMFC): Up10.00% to N2.97 from N2.70
• R.T. Briscoe (Nigeria) Plc: Rose 9.55% to N9.75 from N8.90
• Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc: Gained 8.75% to N4.35 from N 4.00
• Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO): Up 8.57% to N152.00 from N140
• Linkage Assurance Plc: Rose 7.36% to N1.75 from N 1.63

Top 5 losers

• Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc: Shed 7.23% to N7.70 from N8.30
• Ellah Lakes Plc: Down 5.33% to N8 from N8.45
• Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc: Declined 4.65% to N3.28 from N3.44
• Lasaco Assurance Plc: Fell 4.44% to N1.72 from N1.80
• Wema Bank Plc: Down 3.93% to N30.55 from N 31.80

Driving the numbers

The session’s trading activity was heavily concentrated in financial and investment conglomerates.

Fidelity Bank Plc emerged as the single largest volume driver of the day, trading 335,202,936 shares worth of stock across 844 deals as its share price rose +3.73% to close at N20.85.

• VFD Group Plc ranked second, witnessing massive block transactions totaling 122,056,426 shares in 106 trades.
• Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp) registered 65,935,959 shares traded in 281 deals, closing slightly higher at N37.10 (+0.27%).
• Access Holdings Plc posted 43,717,665 shares across 2,084 deals.
• Chams Holding Company Plc recorded 42,601,434 shares across 759 deals.
• United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) and Zenith Bank Plc logged 34,809,849 shares and 30,423,209 shares respectively.

A total of 978,214,048 shares were traded across 48,459 deals in the equities segment. Trading volume was overwhelmingly dominated by equities on the Main Board, which generated 839,732,755 shares traded in 31,663 deals.

The Premium Board accounted for 122,543,845 shares across 13,852 deals, while the Growth Board recorded 4,437,277 shares in 996 deals.

Additionally, the Non-Interest Finance Board and REITs/Close-End Funds recorded 9,003,849 shares (1,348 trades) and 2,496,322 shares (600 trades) respectively.

Sectoral performance

Sectoral movements were largely positive, led by a surge in energy equities.

NGX Oil & Gas Index was the standout performer of the day, surging +3.95% (+237.56 points) from 6,014.43 to 6,251.99 points. The sector was bolstered by heavy buying interest in Seplat Energy Plc, which surged +7.33% (+N1,092.20) to close at N16,000.00.

• NGX Premium Index advanced by +0.89% from 31,818.49 to 32,102.82 points.
• NGX Pension Index gained +0.58% to close at 13,387.28 points.
• NGX CG Index rose +0.75% to 7,713.81 points.
• NGX Consumer Goods Index clended marginally higher by +0.04% to 4,094.20 points, supported by gains in Nascon Allied Industries Plc (+2.78% to N188.50) and International Breweries Plc (+1.54% to N9.90).
• NGX Banking Index softened slightly by -0.29% to 2,740.74 points, weighed down by moderate price declines in Wema Bank Plc (-3.93% to N30.55), UBA Plc (-0.98% to N45.55), and Zenith Bank Plc (-0.59% to N134.20), while the NGX Insurance Index edged down by -0.08% to 1,092.34 points.

Market breadth closed in favor of the bulls, with 28 equities posting price gains compared to 24 decliners.

What you should know

The performance on Thursday builds on Wednesday’s milestone where market capitalisation reached a record N163 trillion.

This reflects persistent growth in the last week, rising from N159.9 trillion reached last Thursday.

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