NGX gains N437.4 billion in second straight rebound as breadth turns positive
By Aboki Forex —
The Nigerian equities market closed higher for a second consecutive session on Friday, September 11, 2026, with the All-Share Index rising 0.28% to 243,052.74 points and market capitalisation adding about N437.40 billion.
The index climbed from 242,378.13 points, while market capitalisation rose to N157.59 trillion from N157.15 trillion. The gain builds on Thursday's modest N100 billion recovery and lifts the year-to-date return to +56.19%, up from +56.12% previously.
Market breadth turned decisively positive, with 31 stocks advancing against 18 decliners, a sharp improvement from the negative readings seen through much of the week.
Volume cools after Thursday's spike
Trading activity slowed sharply. Volume fell 60.48% to 552.89 million shares from 1.40 billion shares, while turnover value slipped 4.99% to N25.79 billion from N27.14 billion. Total deals eased 1.17% to 45,678 from 46,218.
The drop suggests Thursday's FTGINSURE-driven volume spike was a one-off rather than the start of a sustained acceleration in activity.
NGX Group, banks lead the advance
NGX Group was the session's most significant large-cap gainer, up 8.03% to close at N148.00, its strongest single-session move among blue chips. eTranzact advanced 8.79% to N13.00, while Oando extended its rally with a 5.92% rise to N34.00.
Banking names broadly participated. Access Holdings rose 3.57% to N29.00, UBA gained 1.94% to N44.75 and Zenith Bank added 0.64% to N125.30.
On the losing side, Stanbic IBTC Holdings eased 1.58% to N152.90 and Transcorp declined 1.59% to N34.00, giving back part of its recent gains. MTN Nigeria and GTCO were roughly flat, down 0.23% and 0.08% respectively.
Among smaller caps, Abbey Mortgage Bank and UPDC REIT both hit the 10.00% daily limit, closing at N7.15 and N13.75. Omatek Ventures gained 9.60% to N1.37, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance rose 9.06% to N6.50 and Chams Holdings added 8.90% to N3.67.
John Holt led the losers, down 10.00% to N9.00. Austin Laz & Company fell 9.55% to N1.99, Royal Exchange lost 9.09% to N0.90, UPDC dropped 5.88% to N3.20 and NSL Technologies shed 4.41% to N0.65.
Sector indices mostly higher
The NGX Banking Index rose to 2,528.80 points from 2,510.84 points. The Insurance Index climbed to 1,059.16 points from 1,038.76 points. Consumer Goods advanced to 4,048.07 points from 4,009.33 points, while Oil/Gas edged to 5,817.36 points from 5,807.48 points. The Industrial Index was essentially flat at 9,994.79 points from 9,994.86 points.
Friday's session marks a second straight day of recovery from Wednesday's N1.67 trillion sell-off, with the shift to positive breadth pointing to a broader-based bounce than the large-cap-led move a day earlier.
The market may face renewed pressure as investors keep liquidating Insurance and Banking positions ahead of the Dangote Refinery IPO, whose subscription window opens September 14. Nigeria's reclassification to Frontier Market status by FTSE Russell takes effect from September 21, making the coming sessions a test of whether the late recovery can hold.