Zenith Bank Trades 34.87 Million Shares as NGX Market Cap Hits N158.7 Trillion
By Aboki Forex —
The Nigerian Exchange closed higher on Wednesday, September 16, with market capitalisation rising to N158.7 trillion from N158.4 trillion the previous day, a single-session gain of roughly N315.9 billion. The NGX All-Share Index moved from 244,304.51 points on Tuesday to 244,791.79 points, a 0.20% advance, as buying interest in banking, insurance and financial services stocks held firm.
Investors traded 662.35 million shares across 63,167 deals during the session. Trading volume jumped 27.22% compared with the 520.65 million shares exchanged on Tuesday, but the number of deals fell 12.24% from the 71,977 recorded the previous day.
Sterling Leads Banking Volume
Financial services stocks drove the bulk of the day's activity, accounting for 422 million shares traded in 20,251 deals. Sterling Financial Holdings topped the banking counters with 142.04 million shares.
Fidelity Bank followed with 43.33 million shares, GTCO posted 40.55 million shares, Zenith Bank attracted 34.87 million shares, and Access Holdings recorded 26.56 million shares.
In the insurance segment, AIICO Insurance led with 73.63 million shares. Veritas Kapital Assurance traded 10.61 million shares, International Energy Insurance recorded 7.75 million shares, and Regency Alliance Insurance exchanged 5.77 million shares.
Gainers and Losers
Sovereign Trust Insurance topped the gainers list, rising 9.69% to N2.15. Prestige Assurance also featured among the notable gainers with a 9.56% rise.
Champion Breweries gained 9.50% to close at N10.95, Livestock Feeds advanced 9.42% to N7.55, Learn Africa added 9.09% to reach N8.40, and Mbenefit Assurance climbed 8.93% to N3.05.
On the losing side, IMG shed 9.93% to close at N27.65, John Holt fell 9.88% to N7.30, and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank dropped 9.84% to N2.84. Fidson Healthcare declined 9.19% to N72.65, Royal Exchange lost 9.00% to N0.91, and Ellah Lakes dropped 8.79%.
Dangote Refinery IPO Still in Focus
The session came days after the initial public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE drew roughly N1.5 trillion in subscriptions within six hours of opening on the Nigerian Exchange in Lagos on Monday, September 14, 2026. The offer is priced at N525 per share, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares, meaning retail investors can enter for as little as N5,250.
The offer is being described as the largest IPO in Africa. The surge in demand caused serious problems for two popular fintech investment platforms.
The sustained interest in banking and insurance counters, alongside the refinery offer, points to a market still hungry for new listings even as trading shifts toward fewer but larger deals.