Nigeria’s equities market added N779.3 billion in value on Thursday as renewed buying interest in heavyweight stocks, particularly Dangote Cement, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and FCMB Group, lifted the benchmark index by 0.47 per cent, pushing its year-to-date return to 63.28 per cent.
The market capitalisation of listed equities rose to N164.97 trillion from the previous session’s level, while the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index advanced to 254,083.02 points, extending the market’s positive performance in October.
Dangote Cement led the rally among heavyweight stocks, appreciating by 5.8 per cent, while FCMB Group gained 3.7 per cent. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated rose by 2.9 per cent, and Access Holdings advanced by 1.9 per cent, supporting the benchmark’s upward movement.
The latest advance lifted the market’s month-to-date return to 1.1 per cent, reinforcing its strong performance in 2026 despite intermittent bouts of profit-taking and uneven performance across sectors.
Trading activity also strengthened considerably, with the total value of transactions rising by 105.54 per cent to N57.36 billion, while volume increased by 61.90 per cent to 654.28 million shares. However, the number of deals fell by 8.18 per cent to 35,821, suggesting that the increase in turnover value was not accompanied by a corresponding rise in transaction count.
First HoldCo dominated the session’s trading activity, accounting for 343.80 million shares valued at N34.78 billion, making it the most traded stock by both volume and value.
Its dominance in turnover came despite a 10 per cent decline in its share price, the steepest among the day’s losers. The divergence between its substantial trading activity and price performance highlighted the intensity of transactions in the stock during the session.
Market breadth remained neutral, with 27 stocks advancing against 27 decliners, translating to a breadth ratio of 1.0 times. The near-even distribution of gainers and losers indicated that the benchmark’s appreciation was driven more by gains in selected heavyweight counters than by a broad-based rally across listed equities.
E-Tranzact International led the advancers, rising by 10 per cent, followed by Sovereign Trust Insurance, which gained 9.6 per cent. FTG Insurance also featured among the leading gainers.
On the losing side, First HoldCo shed 10 per cent, while Livestock Feeds declined by 9.7 per cent, recording the session’s most significant losses.
Sectoral performance was mixed, with industrial goods stocks leading the market’s advances. The industrial goods index gained 3.41 per cent, supported by buying interest in Dangote Cement, while the insurance index rose by 0.75 per cent. The oil and gas index edged up by 0.05 per cent, while the commodities index closed flat.
In contrast, the banking index fell by 2.10 per cent, making it the weakest-performing sector during the session, while consumer goods stocks recorded a marginal decline of 0.06 per cent.
The banking sector’s decline, despite gains in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Access Holdings, suggests that losses in other banking stocks outweighed advances in the two counters. This divergence further reflected the selective nature of investors’ positioning across the market.
The industrial goods sector’s strong performance, meanwhile, demonstrated the influence of heavyweight stocks on the overall direction of the benchmark index. Dangote Cement’s 5.8 per cent appreciation provided a significant boost to the market, helping to offset weakness in banking and consumer goods equities.
The increase in market capitalisation to N164.97 trillion also underscored the scale of value accumulated in Nigerian equities this year, with the All-Share Index delivering a 63.28 per cent year-to-date return.
Analysts believe that the market’s ability to sustain its upward trajectory will depend on whether buying interest spreads beyond a handful of heavyweight stocks and provides stronger support across the wider equities market.