Nigeria’s equities market extended its winning run on Thursday as investors added N962 billion, keeping the rally intact for a fifth straight trading session and pushing both market value and key index levels higher.
Stocks rise again as investors extend the rally
Trading closed with Nigeria’s market capitalisation up 0.62%—climbing from N155.585 trillion at the start of the session to N156.547 trillion by the close. The All-Share Index also gained 1,498.75 points, an increase of 0.62%, moving from 242,459.98 to 243,958.75.
The continued advance lifted the market’s year-to-date return to 56.77%, reinforcing the strength of investor sentiment. Market breadth finished positive, with 29 advancing stocks outnumbering 25 that declined.
Big movers: breweries and financials lead gains; power and others fall
- International Breweries was the top gainer, rising 10% to close at N12.10 per share.
- First HoldCo followed with a 9.96% gain, settling at N69.55.
- Abbey Mortgage Bank rose 9.88% to finish at N8.90 per share.
- Geregu, a power generation company, led the declines with a 10% fall to close at N825.70 per share.
- Thomas Wyatt also dropped 10%, ending the day at N2.70 per share.
Trading activity jumps; First HoldCo dominates volume and value
Market activity accelerated sharply during the session. Total traded volume surged by 219.47% to 1.66 billion shares, while the value of trades increased to N111.98 billion across 44,780 deals.
First HoldCo was the most actively traded company, leading on both volume and value. Investors traded 1.26 billion shares of First HoldCo, accounting for 75.98% of total shares exchanged, while transactions valued at N85.61 billion represented 76.47% of the day’s total trade value.
Fifth consecutive gain and a recent global performance ranking
Thursday’s session marked a fifth straight day of gains on the Nigerian exchange. The latest momentum also comes after the Nigerian stock market was recently cited as the world’s strongest performer in dollar terms, delivering a 68% return in 2026.
