The Nigerian equities market closed the week ended July 24, 2026, on a strong bullish note, driven by heavy demand across key banking counters and consumer goods stocks.
The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 1.60% to close at 247,357.40 points, up from the opening level of 243,462.13 points. Concurrently, market capitalization added ₦2.53 trillion (+1.61%) to hit ₦159.59 trillion.
Despite minor Friday profit-taking in large-cap names like Presco, the market’s Year-to-Date (YTD) return improved to 58.96%.
Market Snapshot & Trading Activity
Investor participation strengthened significantly, with trading volume, value, and deal counts all recording substantial week-on-week gains.
- Total Shares Traded: 4.433 billion shares (+57.28% vs. 2.819 billion last week)
- Total Trading Value: ₦306.143 billion (+67.59% vs. ₦182.499 billion last week)
- Total Deals: 255,589 deals (+12.75% vs. 226,729 last week)
- Market Breadth: 57 gainers, 38 decliners, and 51 unchanged (compared to 44 gainers, 35 decliners, and 67 unchanged in the previous week).
Activity by Sector
- Financial Services: Maintained its dominant lead, accounting for 3.422 billion shares worth ₦207.206 billion across 117,545 deals. This represented 77.18% of total market volume and 67.68% of total value.
- Consumer Goods: Ranked second with 201.978 million shares worth ₦17.171 billion in 28,666 deals.
- ICT: Ranked third, recording 169.481 million shares worth ₦21.194 billion in 23,107 deals.
Market Concentration: The top three individual stocks by volume—First HoldCo, Access Holdings, and GTCO—dominated activity, jointly accounting for 2.151 billion shares (48.51% of total volume) valued at ₦170.793 billion (55.79% of total value).
Top Performers & Decliners
Top 10 Gainers
| Stock | Opening Price | Closing Price | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPDC REIT | ₦10.65 | ₦14.20 | +33.33% |
| First HoldCo | ₦95.95 | ₦120.50 | +25.59% |
| Unilever Nigeria | ₦124.00 | ₦147.95 | +19.31% |
| Cadbury Nigeria | ₦57.00 | ₦67.50 | +18.42% |
| AXA Mansard Insurance | ₦11.20 | ₦13.20 | +17.86% |
| BUA Cement | ₦275.60 | ₦324.00 | +17.56% |
| Thomas Wyatt Nigeria | ₦3.09 | ₦3.63 | +17.48% |
| Access Holdings | ₦25.00 | ₦29.20 | +16.80% |
| C&I Leasing | ₦5.55 | ₦6.35 | +14.41% |
| Custodian Investment | ₦69.00 | ₦78.45 | +13.70% |
Top 10 Decliners
| Stock | Opening Price | Closing Price | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mecure Industries | ₦85.45 | ₦62.40 | -26.97% |
| Royal Exchange | ₦1.48 | ₦1.29 | -12.84% |
| Tripple Gee & Co. | ₦3.89 | ₦3.41 | -12.34% |
| SUNU Assurances | ₦4.00 | ₦3.60 | -10.00% |
| BUA Foods | ₦939.00 | ₦845.10 | -10.00% |
| Presco | ₦2,300.00 | ₦2,070.00 | -10.00% |
| Nestlé Nigeria | ₦3,125.00 | ₦2,812.50 | -10.00% |
| Haldane McCall | ₦3.65 | ₦3.29 | -9.86% |
| Associated Bus Company | ₦7.80 | ₦7.05 | -9.62% |
| Trans-Nationwide Express | ₦3.10 | ₦2.82 | -9.03% |
Sectoral Performance Highlights
Overall sector performance was largely bullish, led by pre-earnings accumulation across financial and manufacturing heavyweights:
- Banking Index (+8.35%): Outperformed all other sectors, bolstered by strong buying momentum in First HoldCo, Access Holdings, FCMB, and Zenith Bank.
- Consumer Goods Index (+6.30%): Rebounded on heavy accumulation in Unilever, Cadbury, and Guinness Nigeria, though price dips in heavyweights like Nestlé and BUA Foods limited broader sector upside.
- Industrial Goods Index (+5.01%): Propelled higher by strong demand for BUA Cement, which easily offset losses in lower-cap names like Tripple Gee and Cutix.
- Insurance Index (+3.86%): Boosted by solid double-digit rallies in AXA Mansard, NEM Insurance, and Veritas Kapital.
- Oil & Gas Index (+0.11%): Edged up marginally as gains in Eterna and Oando balanced out sell-offs elsewhere in the sector.
Corporate Actions & Exchange Updates
1. New Share Listings & Capital Raising
Linkage Assurance Plc listed 12.320 billion ordinary shares on July 23 following its successful Rights Issue (2 new shares for every 3 held at ₦1.32 per share). This brought the company's total issued shares to 30.800 billion, contributing to the week's overall market capitalization growth.
2. Trading Suspensions
Aluminium Extrusion Plc was suspended from trading on July 22 for failing to file its Audited Financial Statements for FY 2025 in compliance with NGX Default Filing Rules. The suspension will remain until the statements are submitted.
3. Dividend Price Adjustments
| Company | Adjustment Date | Dividend/Share | Pre-Adjustment Price | Adjusted Closing Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa Prudential Plc | July 21 | ₦0.10 | ₦13.60 | ₦13.50 |
| Transcorp Power Plc | July 21 | ₦1.50 | ₦245.50 | ₦244.00 |
| Mutual Benefits Assurance | July 22 | ₦0.04 | ₦3.43 | ₦3.39 |
| Transcorp Hotels Plc | July 23 | ₦0.10 | ₦242.00 | ₦241.90 |
| Transnational Corporation | July 24 | ₦0.40 | ₦40.30 | ₦39.90 |
Key Takeaways for Investors
- Real Estate Re-rating: UPDC REIT hitting a high of ₦14.20 reflects shifting investor sentiment toward yield-focused, asset-backed instruments amid ongoing corporate payout seasons.
- First HoldCo Leads the Charge: Jumping 25.59% to ₦120.50, First HoldCo reinforced its position as the market's most capitalized banking stock, riding high on market sentiment following impressive H1 earnings announcements.
- Consumer Sector Polarization: The consumer goods space experienced a clear split. While value investors snapped up recently corrected names like Unilever (+19.31%) and Cadbury (+18.42%), heavyweights Nestlé (-10.00%) and BUA Foods (-10.00%) faced sharp profit-taking pressure.
