The Nigerian equities market opened the new week on a bullish note on Monday, August 3, 2026, adding N288.44 billion in market capitalization as gains in banking heavyweights outweighed weakness in insurance and consumer goods counters.
- +Banking stocks lift Nigerian market by N288 billion despite broad selloff
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose +0.18% to close at 245,730.53 points, up from 245,283.68 points in the previous session.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose +0.18% to close at 245,730.53 points, up from 245,283.68 points in the previous session. Market capitalisation climbed to N158.61 trillion, from N158.33 trillion.
The market’s year-to-date return strengthened to 57.91%, while the month-to-date return settled at +0.18%, marking a positive start to August’s trading.
The session’s gains were anchored firmly in banking, with several heavyweight lenders providing the bulk of upward momentum.
On the downside, ETI was the biggest heavyweight decliner, falling 9.95% to N80.10, adding significant pressure to the session.
Sectoral performance was divergent. The Banking Index led gains at +0.75% to close at 2,546.57 points, followed by Industrial at +0.21% to 10,546.78 points.
The Insurance Index was the session’s biggest decliner, falling 1.78% to 1,178.75 points.
Market breadth remained negative, with 38 decliners outpacing 24 gainers, a ratio of 0.6x, even as the index closed higher.
Total volume traded declined 2.12% to 923.01 million shares, valued at N37.85 billion, a 19.02% drop in value, even as deal count rose sharply by 30.76% to 72,544 transactions.
Access Holdings was the most traded stock by volume at 166.64 million units, while Aradel Holdings led by value at N4.59 billion.
Monday’s gains reflect selective buying in liquid large-cap banking names, particularly First HoldCo, UBA, Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank and GTCO, even as investors took profits in select consumer, insurance and energy stocks.
Looking ahead, the market is expected to sustain its bullish trend as investor sentiment tilts increasingly positive, though residual profit-taking activity from the prior week could temper the pace of any recovery.
