NGX Closes Week With N405bn Gain as Market Rally Continues

By Opeyemi Adelakun

The Nigerian equities market ended the week on a positive note, adding N405 billion to its total market capitalisation as renewed buying interest pushed key market indicators higher.

Market capitalisation increased from N159.153 trillion on Thursday to N159.558 trillion at the close of trading on Friday, representing a 0.25 per cent rise.

The All-Share Index also advanced by 604.22 points to 246,992.44, compared with 246,388.22 recorded in the previous session.

The latest gain pushed the equities market’s year-to-date return to 58.72 per cent, reflecting the continued strength of the market in 2026.

Despite the positive close, market breadth remained negative, with 31 stocks recording losses against 26 gainers.

Industrial and Medical Gases emerged among the strongest performers, gaining 9.97 per cent to close at N30.70 per share. Juli rose by 9.66 per cent to N6.55, while University Press gained 9.09 per cent to finish at N5.

On the declining side, Red Star Express and Haldane McCall each lost 10 per cent, closing at N13.95 and N3.60 respectively.

Abbey Mortgage Bank and Royal Exchange also declined by 10 per cent each to close at N7.70 and N1.10 per share.

Nigerian Breweries fell by 9.93 per cent to N82.45, while John Holt and Daar Communications dropped by 9.89 per cent and 9.68 per cent respectively. 

Trading activity also recorded a significant increase, with total volume jumping by 416.66 per cent to 2.24 billion shares.

The transactions were valued at N73.41 billion across 42,709 deals during the session.

Fortis Global Insurance dominated trading by volume, accounting for 1.45 billion shares, representing 64.85 per cent of total shares traded.

Seplat Energy recorded the highest transaction value at N32.24 billion, representing 43.91 per cent of the total value traded.