Best-performing Nigerian stocks in July as two stocks crossed 100% gains

The Nigerian equities market staged a strong recovery in July 2026, with the benchmark NGX All-Share Index gaining 6.92% month-on-month to close at 245,283.68 points, up from 229,419.18 points at the end of June.

The rebound followed the sharp sell-off recorded in June, when the index declined 8.37% from its May 2026 peak of 250,385.70 points.

Despite July’s recovery, the benchmark index remained approximately 2.04% below its May high.

Market capitalisation increased by approximately N11.11 trillion during July, rising from N147.22 trillion at the end of June to N158.326 trillion on July 31.

However, part of the increase reflected new and supplementary listings, including AVA Capital and additional shares issued by Fortis Global Insurance.

Consequently, the benchmark index’s year-to-date return improved to 57.62%, while the increase in market capitalisation since the start of the year stood at approximately 59.32%.

Against this backdrop, Fortis Global Insurance and FirstHoldCo led July’s share price gains.

However, the increase in overall market value was concentrated in larger companies, as Airtel Africa, FirstHoldCo, MTN Nigeria and Dangote Cement each added more than N1 trillion in market capitalization.

Together, the four companies added about N10.78 trillion, accounting for about 97% of the market’s N11.11 trillion increase in July.

July’s performance represented a recovery from the broad market correction recorded in June rather than a new market peak.

The NGX All-Share Index climbed to 250,385.70 points at the end of May before declining to 229,419.18 points in June as investors booked profits following the market’s strong rally earlier in the year.

The 6.92% rebound in July recovered a significant portion of the June decline, but the index still closed approximately 5,102 points below its May peak.

The recovery was also uneven across sectors. Banking stocks led the rebound, while Consumer Goods remained under pressure.

The market recovery was led by the banking sector, which reversed its June decline and outperformed the broader market.

Consumer Goods was the only major sector to decline in July, falling 4.11% to 4,405.53 points. Its weakness showed that the broader market recovery was not evenly distributed.

Trading activity remained strong in July 2026, with investors exchanging 17.82 billion shares valued at about N1.184 trillion across 1.166 million deals during the month’s 23 trading sessions.

This translated to an average daily turnover of about 774.63 million shares worth N51.47 billion in 50,694 deals.

Market breadth was moderately positive during the month, with cumulative daily advances of 728, compared with 619 declines, while unchanged stocks totalled 1,721.

Fortis Global Insurance completed a four-for-one share reconstruction on July 2, reducing its issued shares from about 12.91 billion to 3.23 billion and adjusting the reference price to N3.96.

Trading in Aluminium Extrusion was suspended on July 22 for failing to submit its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025.

Abbey Mortgage Bank changed its name to Abbey Bank, with its ticker changing from ABBEYBDS to ABBEYBANK.