By Bamidele Famoofo
WorldStage– The Nigerian equities market extended its remarkable bullish run during the week, buoyed by renewed buying interest across major counters and strengthening investor confidence. Market sentiment received an additional boost following reports that the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) had emerged as the world’s best-performing equity market in U.S. dollar terms, posting a remarkable 67 percent year-to-date return and overtaking South Korea’s Kospi, according to Bloomberg’s ranking of 92 global stock exchanges.
The positive narrative, alongside continued optimism over corporate earnings and macroeconomic reforms, sustained demand for Nigerian equities despite relatively subdued trading activity.
Consequently, the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 6.35 percent week-on-week to close at 243,798.76 points, while market capitalization gained approximately ₦9.34 trillion to settle at ₦156.44 trillion. The week’s performance lifted the market’s year-to-date return to 56.67 percent, reinforcing Nigeria’s position as one of the world’s strongest-performing equity markets in 2026. Market breadth remained firmly positive, with 59 gainers against 25 losers, translating to a healthy breadth ratio of 2.36x, indicative of broad-based buying interest across large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks.
Although trading activity softened during the week, market conviction remained strong. Total trading volume and the number of deals declined by 4.52 percent and 2.56 percent, respectively, suggesting slightly lower market participation. However, transaction value surged by 42.87 percent to ₦220.86 billion, as investors rotated into higher-value and fundamentally attractive counters. In total, 3.65 billion shares exchanged hands across 252,247 deals.
Sectoral performance rebounded strongly during the week, with all major indices closing in positive territory as renewed buying interest swept across the market. The rally was led by the Industrial Goods, Oil & Gas, and Consumer Goods sectors, reflecting improving investor confidence and broad-based accumulation across fundamentally strong counters. The Industrial Goods Index emerged as the best-performing sector, advancing 10.46 percent week-on-week, driven primarily by strong gains in DANGCEM and CUTIX as investors repositioned in bellwether industrial stocks. The Oil & Gas Index followed with an 8.85 percent gain, buoyed by renewed demand for ARADEL and JAPAULGOLD, amid sustained optimism surrounding the energy sector.
Similarly, the Consumer Goods Index appreciated by 6.12 percent, underpinned by strong buying interest in INTBREW, HONYFLOUR, and CADBURY, reflecting renewed appetite for consumer-facing stocks with improving earnings prospects. The Banking Index also recorded a solid 4.12 percent gain, supported by notable advances in JAIZBANK, WEMABANK, and FIDELITYBK, while the Insurance Index rose 3.92 percent on the back of strong performances from INTENEGINS, CONHALLPLC, and VERITASKAP.
At the stock performance level for the week, INTENEGINS topped the gainers’ chart with a 40.00 percent return, followed by SCOA (32.00%), LIVINGTRUST (28.50%), FIRSTHOLDCO (25.80%), and ABBEYBANK (23.60%). On the downside, MECURE led the laggards after declining by 28.60 percent, while GEREGU, CAP, GUINNESS, and ETI each shed 10.00 percent amid profit-taking and portfolio rebalancing.Looking ahead, experts at Cowry Asset expect the market’s positive momentum to remain intact, supported by improving macroeconomic fundamentals, robust institutional demand, and sustained foreign investor interest following the NGX’s global outperformance. Nonetheless, intermittent profit-taking is likely after the market’s strong recent gains, particularly in stocks that have significantly outperformed.
