The Nigerian equities market surged toward its mid-May high on Monday, August 10, 2026, closing above the historic N160 trillion mark. This milestone was driven by renewed buying interest in high net-worth stocks, led by telecommunications giant Airtel Africa Plc.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 1.20% to close at 248,529.75 points, up from 245,573.60 points in the previous session. Consequently, market capitalisation increased to N160.422 trillion from N158.513 trillion, adding approximately N1.91 trillion in a single trading session.
This rally pushed the market's year-to-date return to 59.71%, up from 57.81% the previous week. The ASI and market capitalisation crossed the 250,000-point and N160 trillion thresholds for the first time since mid-May 2026, when the market hit its year-high of N161.84 trillion on May 13 before a sharp June correction.
Airtel Africa Claims Market Leadership
Airtel Africa emerged as the most capitalised stock on the NGX following its 8.59% single-session gain. The stock added N498.60 per share to close at N6,300.00, up from N5,801.40, marking the largest absolute naira gain of the session.
This surge lifted Airtel Africa's total market capitalisation to N23.7 trillion, securing its position as the heavyweight leader on the local exchange.
Mixed Sector Performance and Negative Breadth
Despite the headline index gains, market breadth remained negative as 36 stocks declined while only 23 advanced. This highlights the selective nature of the rally, where heavyweight gains offset widespread losses.
The Banking Index eased 0.3%, dragged down by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), which fell 9.92% to N64.95, and First HoldCo, which declined 2.34% to N142.00. However, some banking stocks recorded gains, including Access Holdings (+4.08% to N28.05), United Bank for Africa (+3.01% to N46.25), GTCO (+1.56% to N130.00), and Zenith Bank (+0.71% to N126.90).
In other sectors, the Consumer Goods Index advanced 0.8%, supported by Nigerian Breweries rising 1.56% to N71.50. The Oil & Gas and Industrial Goods indices each dipped 0.1%, while the Insurance Index declined 1.1% despite strong gains from Fortis Global Insurance (+10.00% to N2.86) and Sovereign Trust Insurance (+6.59% to N1.78).
Declining Volume and Top Traded Equities
Overall market activity weakened as total trading volume fell 25.11% to 1.137 billion shares, valued at N27.017 billion across 59,185 deals.
Consolidated Hallmark Holdings recorded the highest trading volume, moving 354.069 million shares worth N1.534 billion, representing 31.14% of the day's total volume. First HoldCo led in value, accounting for N5.118 billion or 18.94% of the total market turnover.
Other active counters included Fortis Global Insurance with 307.343 million shares worth N818.333 million, Access Holdings with 48.075 million shares worth N1.369 billion, and Chams Holding Company with 37.371 million shares valued at N163.296 million. Chams also featured among the top gainers, rising 9.80% to N4.48.
