Equity investors on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) kicked off the 2026 trading year on a bullish note, recording a combined market gain of approximately ₦562 billion in the first session of the year, driven by strong positive sentiment carried over from the late-2025 rally.
Trading activities reflected renewed confidence across multiple sectors as investors engaged in bargain hunting, particularly within financial stocks, ahead of the anticipated release of full-year and fourth-quarter 2025 corporate earnings.
At the close of the session, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) climbed by 0.57 percent to settle at 156,492.36 points. The surge translated into an increase in total market capitalisation by ₦561.55 billion, pushing the overall value of listed equities to ₦99.94 trillion.
Market breadth was decisively positive, according to stockbrokers, with advancing stocks significantly outnumbering decliners. A total of 53 equities closed in positive territory against 10 losers, resulting in a bullish sentiment score of 5.3x.
Among the session’s top gainers were ABCTRANS, FTNCOCOA, MBENEFIT, DEAPCAP, and ALEX, which posted notable price appreciations. On the downside, ABBEYBDS, FCMB, SEPLAT, GUINEAINS, and UNIVINSURE emerged as the worst-performing stocks for the day.
Performance across sectoral indices was largely upbeat. The Banking Index led the rally with a 2.32 percent jump, followed by the Insurance Index, which advanced by 2.07 percent. The Oil and Gas Index gained 1.38 percent, while the Commodity Index rose by 0.71 percent. Consumer Goods stocks added a modest 0.21 percent, while the Industrial Goods sector closed virtually unchanged.
Trading activity, however, presented a mixed picture. Total volume traded declined sharply by 64.22 percent to 439.95 million shares, while transaction value fell by 28.92 percent to ₦24.97 billion. In contrast, the number of executed deals rose significantly by 44.33 percent to 40,245 transactions, suggesting heightened retail and institutional participation despite lower volumes.
 kicked off the 2026 trading year on a bullish note, recording a combined market gain of approximately ₦562 billion in the first session of the year, driven by strong positive sentiment carried over from the late-2025 rally.){kind=link}