The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) kicked off the week with a significant leap, pushing market capitalisation past the ₦91 trillion mark as strong investor appetite propelled key stocks. Monday’s trading session saw the All-Share Index climb by 2,811.18 basis points, a 1.99% increase, closing at an all-time high of 144,074.23.
This rally pushed the year-to-date return on the NGX to 40%, well ahead of Nigeria’s annual inflation rate of 22.22%. Market watchers attributed the bullish performance to sustained demand for fundamentally solid equities, particularly large and mid-cap stocks.
Heavyweights like BUA Foods, Dangote Cement, and Champion Breweries led the surge, alongside 44 other notable stocks spanning major sectors. The upward momentum was further boosted by the ongoing release of second-quarter earnings reports and declining yields in the fixed-income market, which encouraged a capital rotation into equities.
Despite the index rally, trading activity volumes dropped. The total number of shares traded declined by 24.84%, while the total value of trades fell by 27.48%. According to Atlass Portfolio Limited, approximately 811.10 million shares worth ₦19.47 billion changed hands across 35,963 deals.
In volume terms, FCMB topped the trading chart, representing 10.49% of all shares traded. Other active counters included UNIVINSURE (10.19%), FIDELITYBK (5.61%), AIICO (4.96%), and VERITASKAP (4.91%).
GTCO emerged as the day’s most traded stock by value, accounting for 14.21% of the total transaction value.
On the gainers’ side, UPDC, LASACO, and ROYALEX all saw a 10.00% price increase. They were closely followed by UACN (+9.97%), SOVRENINS (+9.94%), CHAMPION (+9.91%), ELLAHLAKES (+9.91%), and MBENEFIT (+9.89%), among others—bringing the total number of gainers to 47.
Conversely, 23 stocks closed in the red. ACADEMY and TRANSPOWER led the laggards, both dropping 10.00%, while TOTAL (-9.22%), DANGSUGAR (-6.27%), CHAMS (-4.64%), IKEJAHOTEL (-1.44%), and ARADEL (-1.15%) also saw price declines.
Sectoral performance skewed positive, led by Industrial Goods (+5.72%), Consumer Goods (+4.93%), Insurance (+3.44%), and Banking (+0.08%). The Oil & Gas and Commodities sectors closed in the red, down -1.12% and -1.99%, respectively.
Overall, the NGX added ₦1.77 trillion in value, closing the session with a total market capitalisation of ₦91.15 trillion—underscoring investor optimism and confidence in Nigeria’s equities.
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