The Nigerian equities market concluded the week ended July 24, 2026, on a strong positive trajectory, with the benchmark All Share Index (ASI) climbing by 1.6% to settle at 247,357.40 points. This performance pushed the market capitalization up by approximately N2.53 trillion, or 1.61%, to N159.59 trillion from N157.06 trillion at the week's opening.

Despite a marginal dip on Friday due to profit-taking in PRESCO and other large-cap names, the market's year-to-date return improved to 58.96%. The substantial week-on-week gain in market capitalization was primarily fueled by robust gains across banking and consumer goods stocks, further supported by the additional listing of 12.320 billion ordinary shares of Linkage Assurance Plc on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

Trading Activity Overview

Trading activity intensified considerably during the week, indicating heightened investor participation. A total of 4.433 billion shares valued at N306.143 billion were exchanged in 255,589 deals. These figures represent increases of 57.28% in volume, 67.59% in value, and 12.75% in deal count compared to the previous week's 2.819 billion shares worth N182.499 billion traded in 226,729 deals.

The Financial Services Industry dominated activity by volume, accounting for 3.422 billion shares worth N207.206 billion across 117,545 deals, representing 77.18% of total volume and 67.68% of total value. The Consumer Goods sector followed with 201.978 million shares valued at N17.171 billion in 28,666 deals, while ICT ranked third with a turnover of 169.481 million shares worth N21.194 billion in 23,107 deals.

The top three stocks by volume—FIRSTHOLDCO, Access Holdings, and GTCO—collectively traded 2.151 billion shares worth N170.793 billion in 44,768 deals, making up 48.51% of total volume and 55.79% of total value.

Sectoral Performance Analysis

Sectoral performance was largely positive, with all major indices closing higher. The Banking Index led the charge, advancing 8.35% on the back of strong gains in FIRSTHOLDCO, Access Holdings, FCMB, and Zenith Bank, reflecting sustained optimism ahead of the earnings season. The Consumer Goods Index followed with a 6.30% gain, driven by renewed demand for UNILEVER, CADBURY, and Guinness Nigeria, as investors accumulated fundamentally attractive counters after recent price corrections.

The Industrial Goods Index appreciated by 5.01%, primarily supported by strong buying interest in BUA Cement, which offset declines in TRIPPLEG and Cutix. The Insurance Index gained 3.86%, buoyed by impressive performances in AXA Mansard, NEM Insurance, and Veritas Kapital. The Oil & Gas Index posted a modest 0.11% increase as gains in Eterna and Oando mitigated weakness across other counters. Conversely, the NGX Consumer Goods, Lotus II, Growth, Sovereign Bond, and Commodity indices depreciated by 3.76%, 1.55%, 20.24%, 0.14%, and 1.25% respectively.

Top Performers and Laggards

UPDC REIT and FIRSTHOLDCO were the market's standout performers, advancing 33.33% to N14.20 and 25.59% to N120.50 week-on-week, respectively. Other top-performing stocks included UNILEVER Nigeria (up 19.31% to N147.95), CADBURY Nigeria (up 18.42% to N67.50), AXA Mansard Insurance (up 17.86% to N13.20), BUA Cement (up 17.56% to N324.00), Thomas Wyatt Nigeria (up 17.48% to N3.63), Access Holdings (up 16.80% to N29.20), C&I Leasing (up 14.41% to N6.35), and Custodian Investment (up 13.70% to N78.45).

On the flip side, MECURE Industries recorded the steepest decline, falling 26.97% to N62.40. Other worst-performing stocks included Royal Exchange (down 12.84% to N1.29), TRIPPLEG (down 12.34% to N3.41), SUNU Assurances Nigeria (down 10.00% to N3.60), BUA Foods (down 10.00% to N845.10), PRESCO (down 10.00% to N2,070.00), Nestlé Nigeria (down 10.00% to N2,812.50), Haldane McCall (down 9.86% to N3.29), Associated Bus Company (down 9.62% to N7.05), and Trans-Nationwide Express (down 9.03% to N2.82).

Fifty-seven equities gained value during the week, an increase from forty-four the previous week. Thirty-eight equities recorded losses, up from thirty-five, while fifty-one equities remained unchanged, down from sixty-seven.

Key Corporate Actions

Trading in the shares of Aluminium Extrusion Plc was suspended from the facilities of Nigerian Exchange Limited effective Wednesday, July 22, 2026, due to the company’s failure to file its Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2025. The suspension will be lifted upon submission of the relevant financial statements.

Linkage Assurance Plc listed an additional 12.320 billion ordinary shares on July 23, 2026, following its Rights Issue at N1.32 per share on the basis of two new shares for every three held. This action increased the company’s total issued shares from 18.480 billion to 30.800 billion.

Several stocks also had their prices adjusted for dividends during the week. Africa Prudential Plc was adjusted for a N0.10kobo dividend on July 21, 2026, with its share price moving from N13.60 to N13.50. Transcorp Power Plc was adjusted for a N1.50 dividend on July 21, 2026, moving its share price from N245.50 to N244.00. Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc saw its price adjusted for a N0.04kobo dividend on July 22, moving from N3.43 to N3.39. Transcorp Hotels Plc was adjusted for a N0.10kobo dividend on July 23, 2026, with its share price moving from N242.00 to N241.90. Finally, Transnational Corporation Plc was adjusted for a N0.40kobo dividend on July 24, 2026, moving its share price from N40.30 to N39.90.

Looking ahead, analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited anticipate the market to maintain a positive bias in the near term. This outlook is driven by banking and industrial stocks, as corporate earnings releases, macroeconomic developments, and investor reactions to monetary policy decisions are expected to unfold in the coming weeks.