Banking Heavyweights Drive Weekly Recovery

The Nigerian equities market closed the trading week ended August 7, 2026, on a positive note, largely supported by strong buying interest in major banking stocks. First HoldCo led the banking rally with a 12.23% week-on-week gain to close at N145.40, gaining N15.85 per share during the week following its recent record H1 profit announcement. FCMB Group also provided strong support, climbing 13.10% over the week to close at N12.95.

The benchmark NGX All-Share Index moved between a weekly high of 245,730.53 points recorded on Monday and a weekly low of 244,802.83 points on Tuesday, before recovering to close at 245,573.60 points. The market's year-to-date return improved to 57.81%. Despite the positive headline performance, the sharp divergence between the index's marginal gain and the negative market breadth highlights a market driven by concentrated buying in a handful of heavyweight stocks.

Weekly Trading Activity and Sector Breakdown

A total turnover of 5.359 billion shares worth N139.053 billion was traded in 261,869 deals during the week, compared with 5.119 billion shares worth N404.762 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 285,223 deals. The Financial Services Industry led activity by volume, with 3.469 billion shares worth N73.013 billion traded in 117,509 deals, contributing 64.73% of total volume and 52.51% of total value. The Oil & Gas sector followed with 1.023 billion shares worth N18.900 billion in 17,680 deals, while the ICT sector ranked third with 232.368 million shares worth N14.624 billion in 31,866 deals.

The top three stocks by volume—Japaul Gold & Ventures, Fortis Global Insurance, and FCMB Group—accounted for 2.562 billion shares worth N14.173 billion in 6,645 deals, contributing 47.80% of total volume and 10.19% of total value. Sectoral performance was mixed, with the Banking Index advancing 2.33% to close at 2,586.38 points, and the Consumer Goods Index gaining 1.97% to close at 7,078.25 points. Conversely, the Industrial Goods Index declined 0.17% to 10,507.25 points, the Oil & Gas Index eased 0.03% to 5,240.85 points, the Commodity Index dipped 0.01% to 1,743.53 points, and the Insurance Index recorded the weakest performance, declining 3.31% to 1,160.35 points.

Top Gainers and Losers of the Week

The top ten performing stocks for the week ended August 7, 2026, were:

• AVA Capital — up 33.33% to N11.00
• FCMB Group — up 13.10% to N12.95
• First HoldCo — up 12.23% to N145.40
• Fortis Global Insurance — up 11.11% to N2.60
• Linkage Assurance — up 10.63% to N1.77
• Caverton Offshore Support Group — up 10.00% to N5.50
• Eterna — up 10.00% to N36.30
• Nigeria Real Estate Investment Trust Fund — up 9.71% to N113.00
• Vitafoam Nigeria — up 7.90% to N194.00
• Cornerstone Insurance — up 4.63% to N5.65

The top ten worst-performing stocks for the week were:

• Thomas Wyatt Nigeria — down 26.71% to N3.21
• Trans-Nationwide Express — down 23.76% to N2.15
• Critical Minerals Financing Corporation — down 22.68% to N3.00
• Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) — down 18.94% to N72.10
• Consolidated Hallmark Holdings — down 16.51% to N6.98
• Sovereign Trust Insurance — down 16.50% to N1.67
• Multiverse Mining and Exploration — down 16.47% to N21.30
• Zichis Agro Allied Industries — down 12.22% to N21.55
• Legend Internet — down 11.58% to N4.20
• Sunu Assurances Nigeria — down 11.35% to N3.28

Friday Session Closes on Bullish Note

On Friday, August 7, 2026, the market added N237.8 billion to market capitalisation, closing at N158.51 trillion, up 0.15% from N158.28 trillion in the previous session. The benchmark index rose 0.15% to close at 245,573.60 points, up from 245,209.34 points. Trading activity strengthened significantly as total volume traded surged 185.55% to 1.52 billion shares, and total value settled at N26.65 billion, up 30.27%, though the number of transactions declined 5.01% to 42,580 deals. FTG Insurance was the most traded stock by volume with 824.46 million shares, while Access Holdings led by value with N4.67 billion, representing 17.52% of total market value.

On Friday, the top five gainers were UPDC (up 9.23% to N3.55), CWG (up 6.56% to N19.50), MANSARD (up 4.80% to N13.10), Neimeth (up 4.24% to N8.60), and Cutix (up 4.00% to N2.60). The top five losers for the session were Red Star Express (down 10.00% to N18.00), CAP Plc (down 9.98% to N115.45), John Holt (down 9.82% to N10.10), ABC Transport (down 9.57% to N5.20), and Legend Internet (down 8.70% to N4.20).

Friday's gains were driven by banking heavyweights, with First HoldCo advancing 3.86% to N145.40 from N140.00, Access Holdings gaining 3.26% to N26.95 from N26.10, and UBA advancing 3.22% to N44.90 from N43.50. Zenith Bank added 1.61% to close at N126.00, while FCMB Group rose 1.97% to N12.95. However, gains were moderated by losses in other sectors, including HBM Nigeria (formerly Lafarge Africa), which declined 2.01% to N360.00, Custodian Investment, which fell 3.61% to N72.10, and CAP Plc, which dropped 9.98% to N115.45.