By Boluwatife Oshadiya | September 4, 2026
Key Points
- Seplat and UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust led the gainers with increases of 10.00% and 9.88%
- NGX All-Share Index rose 0.15% to 246,388.22 points, adding ₦238.37 billion to market capitalisation
- Trading volume, value and deals increased, although 33 decliners outnumbered 22 gainers
Main Story
Nigeria’s equities market returned to positive territory on Thursday as buying interest in Seplat and UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust lifted the NGX All-Share Index by 0.15%.
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index closed at 246,388.22 points, while market capitalisation increased by approximately ₦238.37 billion to ₦159.15 trillion. The market’s year-to-date return consequently stood at 58.33%.
Seplat and UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust were the session’s strongest performers, gaining 10.00% and 9.88%, respectively, while Learnafrica rose 9.49%.
Trading activity also improved across the market. According to NGX data, traded volume increased 1.71% to 433.97 million shares, while transaction value rose 3.48% to ₦29.26 billion. The number of deals increased 2.00% to 42,217.
United Bank for Africa led the volume chart with 113.26 million shares valued at approximately ₦5.23 billion across 1,107 deals. Guaranty Trust Holding Company followed on the value chart with transactions worth approximately ₦4.55 billion across 2,568 deals.
Despite the index gain, market breadth weakened, with 33 stocks declining against 22 gainers, indicating that the advance was concentrated in a relatively small group of large or actively traded stocks.
RT Briscoe led the decliners with a 10.00% loss, followed by Conoil Financial Services, which fell 9.86%, and Sovereign Trust Insurance, which declined 9.73%.
Sector performance was mixed. Oil and Gas gained 2.49%, Commodity rose 1.62%, Insurance increased 0.67%, and Industrial Goods advanced 0.23%. Banking declined 0.85%, while Consumer Goods fell 0.39%.
What’s Being Said
The session’s performance points to renewed demand for selected equities, although the negative market breadth suggests that the broader market did not participate equally in the advance.
NGX data showed that the index gain coincided with higher trading volume, value and deal count, while the concentration of gains in selected stocks limited the breadth of the rally.
What’s Next
Investors will watch subsequent NGX sessions for evidence of whether the buying interest in Seplat, UPDC REIT and other leading gainers can broaden across sectors.
Market participants will also monitor the banking and consumer-goods sectors following their declines during Thursday’s session.
Bottom Line:
The NGX’s return to positive territory was supported by strong gains in a handful of stocks rather than a broad market rally. The combination of higher turnover and weak market breadth suggests investors remain selective despite the index’s strong year-to-date performance.
