Banking Heavyweights Drive Market Gains
The Nigerian equities market opened the week on Monday, August 3, 2026, on a bullish note, adding N288.44 billion in market capitalization. The benchmark NGX All-Share Index rose 0.18% to close at 245,730.53 points, up from 245,283.68 points in the previous session.
Market capitalization climbed to N158.61 trillion from N158.33 trillion. This positive start to August trading pushed the market's year-to-date return to 57.91%, while the month-to-date return settled at 0.18%.
The session's gains were anchored firmly in the banking sector, where several heavyweight lenders provided upward momentum. First HoldCo remained one of the strongest contributors, gaining 3.43% to close at N134.00, up from N129.55.
United Bank for Africa (UBA) advanced 3.37% to close at N46.00, while Zenith Bank rose 1.05% to N124.90. Other gainers included Fidelity Bank, which added 1.16% to close at N21.80, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), which advanced 0.77% to N131.00. Access Holdings also edged up marginally by 0.19% to N26.35.
Outside banking, MTN Nigeria gained 0.96% to close at N845.00, while NASCON Allied Industries rose 2.63% to N195.00.
Divergent Sector Performance and Market Breadth
Despite the positive index close, market breadth remained negative, with 38 decliners outpacing 24 gainers, representing a ratio of 0.6x. The Banking Index led the sectoral gainers, rising 0.75% to close at 2,546.57 points, followed by the Industrial Index, which grew 0.21% to 10,546.78 points.
Conversely, the Insurance Index was the session's biggest decliner, falling 1.78% to 1,178.75 points. The Consumer Goods Index eased 0.18% to 4,397.67 points, while the Oil and Gas Index dipped 0.09% to 5,237.40 points. The Commodity Index closed flat at 1,743.68 points.
Among individual decliners, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) was the biggest heavyweight casualty, falling 9.95% to N80.10 from N88.95. Cadbury Nigeria dropped 9.92% to N58.10, weighing on consumer goods.
Other notable decliners included Custodian Investment, which fell 6.50% to N74.80, Oando, which dropped 4.78% to N34.85, and Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), which declined 4.76% to N40.00. Dangote Sugar Refinery eased 2.16% to N77.00, and Nigerian Breweries slipped 1.37% to N72.00.
Volume, Value, and Top Stock Transactions
Activity metrics showed mixed trends as total deals rose sharply by 30.76% to 72,544 transactions. However, trading volume declined by 2.12% to 923.01 million shares, and market turnover (value traded) fell 19.02% to N37.85 billion.
The sharp rise in deal count alongside declining volume and value suggests smaller, more frequent trades characterized the session. This points to broader retail participation even as institutional flows moderated.
Access Holdings emerged as the most traded stock by volume, recording 166.64 million units. Aradel Holdings led the market in terms of value, with transactions totaling N4.59 billion.
The top five gainers of the day were led by Eterna and Caverton Offshore Support Group, which both rose 10.00% to close at N36.30 and N5.50 respectively. Omatek Ventures gained 9.88% to close at N1.78, AVA Capital rose 9.70% to N9.05, and Vitafoam Nigeria advanced 7.90% to N194.00.
On the losing side, the top five decliners were ETI (down 9.95% to N80.10), Cadbury Nigeria (down 9.92% to N58.10), Thomas Wyatt Nigeria (down 9.82% to N3.95 from N4.38), Wapic Insurance (down 9.80% to N2.30 from N2.55), and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (down 9.79% to N3.50 from N3.88).
