The Nigerian All-Share Index (ASI) closed the 15 April 2026 trading session in positive territory, advancing by 3,485.49 points to settle at 209,317.41.
This reflects a 1.69% gain from the previous close of 205,831.92, supported by strong price appreciation in Aradel and Airtel Africa, alongside renewed interest in trillion-naira banking stocks.
Trading activity strengthened, with a total of 706 million shares exchanged across 46,231 deals, compared to 569 million shares recorded in the prior session.
Market capitalisation expanded to N134.77 trillion, while total value traded stood at N41.87 billion, driven largely by significant turnover in heavyweight stocks.
What the data is saying:
Trading sentiment remained strongly bullish on 15 April 2026, with the Nigerian market maintaining a year-to-date return of 34.5%, reflecting sustained investor confidence.
- On the gainers’ chart, Aradel and Airtel Africa led advances, each posting price gains of 10.00% during the session.
Despite the broadly positive tone, some profit-taking pressure emerged, with AustinLaz and John Holt declining by 9.77% and 9.72%, respectively.
- In terms of activity, Zenith Bank led trading volume with 73.2 million shares, followed by Tantalizers at 56.5 million shares and UBA with 49.8 million shares.
- Access Holdings also recorded notable participation with 38.1 million shares traded, while Secure Electronics followed with 32.6 million shares exchanged.
By value traded, Zenith Bank led with N8.7 billion, followed by MTN at N4.3 billion and GTCO at N4.08 billion.
Lafarge recorded N3.9 billion in transactions, while Aradel completed the top value traded list with N3.4 billion.
Top 5 gainers
- Airtel Africa — up 10.00% to N2,746.70
- Aradel — up 10.00% to N1,406.90
- Ecobank Transnational — up 9.98% to N55.65
- Transnational Express — up 9.89% to N5.00
- Fortis Global Insurance — up 9.82% to N1.23
Top 5 losers
- AustinLaz — down 9.77% to N3.60
- John Holt — down 9.72% to N13.00
- CWG — down 7.22% to N21.20
- Conoil — down 6.80% to N190.50
- Omatek — down 5.48% to N2.07
SWOOTs performance
Among stocks valued above one trillion naira, Airtel Africa and Aradel both gained 10%, while Stanbic IBTC advanced 8.23%, Wema Bank posted 5.14%, and MTN rose 1.08%.
On the flip side, International Breweries recorded a decline of 1.68% during the session.
FUGAZ performance
Performance within the FUGAZ banking group was mixed, as Zenith Bank gained 6.87% and GTCO rose 3.17%.
On the downside, UBA fell 3.33%, and First Holdco declined 2.64%, while Access Holdings posted a marginal decline of 0.19%.
What you should know
The index level of 209,317.41 represents a new all-time high, driven largely by renewed momentum in large-cap stocks that had remained relatively subdued for most of early April, particularly Aradel and Airtel Africa.
If this renewed strength in large-cap stocks persists, the market may attempt to test the 210,000 level in subsequent trading sessions.
