NGX records 6.35% weekly gain, market cap adds N9.34 trillion
By Aboki Forex —
The Nigerian equities market closed virtually flat on Friday, July 10, 2026, but capped its strongest weekly performance since the June correction began. The benchmark NGX All-Share Index advanced 6.35% week-on-week to close at 243,798.76 points, while market capitalisation gained approximately N9.34 trillion to settle at N156.44 trillion.
The All-Share Index depreciated marginally by 0.065% on Friday to close at 243,798.76 points, nearly unchanged from Thursday's close of 243,958.73 points. Market capitalisation also slipped by N102.65 billion to N156.54 trillion. The year-to-date return held steady at 56.77% after four consecutive sessions of gains.
Friday's trading activity collapses
Trading activity fell sharply from Thursday's extraordinary levels. Total volume dropped 73.36% to 441.27 million shares. Value traded plunged 82.67% to N19.40 billion. The decline directly reflects the absence of the 1.26 billion First HoldCo shares worth N85.61 billion that dominated Thursday's session. Stripped of that single trade, Friday's activity levels were broadly in line with recent session norms.
Deals count was almost unchanged at 44,938 transactions, up just 0.35% from Thursday's 44,780. Access Holdings led by volume with 40.17 million shares valued at N1.01 billion. Sterling Financial Holdings followed with 30.25 million shares worth N228.80 million. Fidelity Bank traded 26.28 million shares valued at N505.56 million. Zenith Bank recorded 22.30 million shares worth N2.47 billion. First HoldCo traded 18.98 million shares valued at N1.32 billion.
Market breadth was positive with 30 gainers against 27 losers.
Guinness Nigeria leads blue-chip losses
Guinness Nigeria Plc shed 9.99% to N329.00, wiping N79.95 billion from the brewer's market value in a single session. The stock lost nearly N36.50 in one day. Guinness remains well above its January 2026 opening price, reflecting extraordinary gains logged across the consumer segment in H1 2026. However, profit-taking at current levels has been a recurring pattern since the June correction began.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings fell 6.63% to N152.20. Fidelity Bank, which had surged 9.97% on Wednesday, gave back 2.56% to close at N19.00. GTCO slipped 0.71% to N126.00. Access Holdings eased 0.20% to N24.95. First HoldCo declined 0.50% to N69.20 after Thursday's near-maximum daily gain.
On the upside, Oando advanced 5.00% to N39.90. Unilever Nigeria rose 2.46% to N125.00. UBA gained 2.37% to N41.00. NAHCO added 2.09% to N163.35. Cadbury Nigeria rose 1.62% to N62.60. UAC of Nigeria climbed 1.07% to N184.95. Transcorp added 1.00% to N40.50. Zenith Bank edged up 0.73% to N110.80.
Top gainers for the day were Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund up 10.00% to N148.50, International Breweries up 9.92% to N13.30, NEM Insurance up 9.61% to N27.95, Jaiz Bank up 6.36% to N9.20, and UPDC up 6.33% to N4.20.
Top losers included Thomas Wyatt Nigeria down 10.00% to N2.43, Guinness Nigeria down 9.99% to N329.00, Ikeja Hotel down 9.96% to N42.50, Zichis Agro-Allied Industries down 9.94% to N26.37, and McNichols down 9.91% to N5.00.
Sectoral performance mixed
The Banking Index recorded the sharpest sectoral decline, falling 0.78% to 2,149.14 points. The Oil and Gas Index followed with a 0.52% decline to 5,255.03 points. On the positive side, the Consumer Goods Index led all sectors with a 0.49% gain to 4,691.90 points. The Insurance Index advanced marginally by 0.06% to 1,132.98 points. The Industrial Goods Index and Commodity Index both closed flat.
The flat Industrial Goods close is notable given that cement names have been significant drivers of the market's recent recovery.
What the weekly rally means
The ASI has risen approximately 8.8% from its July 2 correction low of 224,321.97 points to 243,954.45 points at Friday's close. The year-to-date return of 56.77% is the highest weekly close recorded since the June correction began in late May, indicating that the market has recovered the bulk of June's losses in under two weeks. The market enters the second week of July with strong momentum, a recovered YTD return above 56%, and a calendar packed with major corporate results. Whether the recovery extends or faces renewed selling will depend significantly on the tone of earnings reports.