The Nigerian equities market opened the new trading week on Monday with a bullish start, extending gains from previous sessions as buying interest in heavyweight stocks pushed the benchmark index higher.
OMATEK was the session’s top gainer, while TOTAL recorded the steepest decline.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1.20% to close at 244,199.39 points, up from 241,298.47 points recorded on Friday.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by approximately N1.91trn, while the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return strengthened to 56.93%.
The bullish performance was largely driven by advances in selected heavyweight stocks, with IKEJAHOTEL (+9.95%), ETI (+8.98%), ACCESSCORP (+8.81%), NB (+8.07%), PZ (+7.86%), NGXGROUP (+6.72%), ZENITHBANK (+5.29%), MTNN (+4.26%), FIDELITYBK (+4.17%), UBA (+3.16%), GTCO (+3.10%), ARADEL (+3.06%), OANDO (+2.72%), FIDSON (+2.60%), TRANSCORP (+2.08%), DANGSUGAR (+1.45%), WEMABANK (+1.05%), ETERNA (+0.70%), and HBMNG (+0.30%), among the major gainers.
The positive movement in the benchmark index was reinforced by improved market breadth, with 43 equities advancing against 16 decliners, signalling a broader recovery in investor sentiment and reduced selling pressure across the market.
Market activity strengthened during the session, as total volume traded increased by 0.17% to 606.19m, valued at N38.70bn across 53,471 deals.
ACCESSCORP recorded the highest volume with 126.54m units traded, accounting for 20.87% of the day’s volume, while MTNN recorded the highest value at 5.72bn, accounting for 14.78% of the value traded for the day.
GTCO and UBA accounted for 5.47% and 5.19% of the total volume, respectively, while GTCO and ACCESSCORP followed MTNN in traded value.
The rebound followed FTSE Russell’s confirmation of Nigeria’s reclassification to Frontier Market status, effective September 21, 2026.
FTSE Russell had in June placed Nigeria’s reclassification under ‘further review’ after the Nigerian capital market moved from a T+2 to T+1 settlement cycle on June 1, 2026.
The global index provider had expressed concerns that the shorter settlement period could effectively turn Nigeria into a prefunded market for international institutional investors.
FTSE Russell considers a requirement to prefund equity trades a negative under its ‘Settlement Cycle (DvP)’ criterion, one of five core Quality of Markets criteria required for attaining Frontier Market status.
However, Securities and Exchange Commission subsequently clarified that foreign portfolio investors are not required to prefund their accounts when trading in the Nigerian capital market.
The SEC stated that transactions settled through the Central Securities Clearing System are settled at 5:00 p.m. on T+1 and remain subject to the standard Delivery versus Payment framework.
Nigeria was originally reclassified from ‘Unclassified’ to ‘Frontier Market’ status following FTSE Russell’s March 2026 interim review, with implementation scheduled to take effect from the open of trading on September 21, 2026.
Meanwhile, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS) has welcomed FTSE Russell’s decision to proceed with Nigeria’s reclassification from Unclassified to Frontier Market status, effective from the opening of trading on September 21, 2026.
CSCS disclosed this in a statement, saying the development reinforces confidence in Nigeria’s T+1 settlement framework and the continued progress of capital market reforms.
The clearing house said the reclassification represents an important milestone for Nigeria’s capital market and reflects the reforms undertaken to improve efficiency, resilience and alignment with evolving global market standards.