Equities resumed the week on a firm footing on Monday as investors on the Nigerian Exchange Limited added N900 billion to their holdings. NGX figures showed market capitalisation climbed by 0.57% to finish at N160.982 trillion, up from N160.077 trillion recorded at the close of trading on Friday.
The upward move also lifted the All-Share Index by 1,412.65 points, representing a 0.57% gain. The index rose from 249,712.37 to 251,125.02, while the market’s year-to-date performance edged higher to 61.38%, signalling that buying interest has remained sustained across the broader trading session.
Market breadth ended in positive territory, with 35 advancing stocks outnumbering 32 decliners. Airtel Africa led the gainers list, jumping 10% to close at N3,655.70. It was followed by International Energy Insurance, which rose 9.68% to N3.74, and Sovereign Trust Insurance, up 9.65% to settle at N2.50 per share. Caverton Offshore Support Group gained 9.63% to close at N7.40, while VFD Group advanced 9.55% to finish at N10.90 per share.
On the other side of the tape, McNichols recorded the steepest fall, slipping 10% to close at N7.20. The Initiates declined by 9.91% to N30.45, and Learn Africa dropped 9.69% to close at N11.65 per share. Zichis Agro Allied Industries and May & Baker also fell, joining the list of laggards at the end of the session.
Despite the price gains, trading activity cooled. Total volume traded decreased by 11.58% to 629.42 million shares. The value of shares traded amounted to N40.91 billion across 82,434 transactions.
Access Corporation led by volume, delivering 61.29 million shares, or 9.74% of all shares traded during the day. Aradel topped the value chart, with deal activity worth N11.99 billion, accounting for 29.30% of the total value traded.
The market uptick comes shortly after the National Bureau of Statistics released a gross domestic product report indicating the Nigerian economy expanded by 3.89% in the first quarter of 2026.
