Nigeria’s equities market hit a record high, with the NGX All-Share Index reaching 250,156.80 points and market capitalisation climbing to N162.39 trillion.
Nigeria’s equities market reached a new record on Monday, September 21, 2026, as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index climbed to 250,156.80 points.
The benchmark index gained 0.14 per cent from 249,804.56 points, pushing its year-to-date return to 60.76 per cent and lifting total market capitalisation to N162.39 trillion, up N228.25 billion from N162.16 trillion.
The milestone coincided with FTSE Russell’s restoration of Nigeria to its Frontier Market Index, reversing nearly three years of exclusion from global investment benchmarks.
Stockbrokers said international passive and active funds had begun reallocating capital to Nigerian equities ahead of the formal reclassification, contributing to an eight-session rally on the NGX.
The Chief Executive Officer of Wyoming Capital Partners Limited, Tajudeen Olayinka, said the market was being supported by local investors buying shares sold by investors seeking liquidity for the Dangote Refinery initial public offering (IPO), as well as those taking advantage of low valuations.
“The market is being balanced by an equivalent force of investors taking out the shares being sold by those who need liquidity to invest in Dangote Refinery’s IPO and those taking advantage of the low prices of stocks with strong fundamentals,” Olayinka said.
He added that the medium-term catalyst would be the timing of actual foreign capital deployment following Nigeria’s inclusion in the relevant indices.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of Highcap Securities Limited, David Adonri, said the market had largely anticipated the FTSE Russell announcement and had steadily priced it into stock valuations.
“The market is information sensitive. When price-sensitive information comes, the market reacts to it. After the reaction, the market moves on,” Adonri said.
Trading activity also strengthened during Monday’s session, with volume rising 9.15 per cent to 574.12 million shares from 525.99 million shares in the previous session.
The market recorded 68,506 deals, representing an increase of 54.85 per cent from 44,239 deals previously, while the month-to-date and year-to-date returns settled at 2.4 per cent and 60.8 per cent, respectively.
Market breadth was positive, with 39 stocks recording gains against 25 decliners. SUNU Assurances Nigeria led the gainers, rising 10 per cent to N3.08, followed by NASCON Allied Industries, Omatek Ventures and Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, which also gained 10 per cent each.
Critical Minerals Financing Corp rose 9.80 per cent to N2.24.
On the losing side, Okomu Oil Palm Company fell 10 per cent to N1,276.20, while Custodian Investment declined 9.13 per cent to N68.15. Sovereign Trust Insurance dropped 8.64 per cent to N2.01, Haldane McCall lost 8.33 per cent to N3.30, while Ellah Lakes declined 5.39 per cent to N7.90.
The day’s advance was supported by gains in large-cap stocks, including HBMNG, which rose 2.8 per cent; GTCO, up 3.0 per cent; Transcorp, which gained 6.8 per cent; and NASCON, which advanced 10 per cent.
Zenith Bank was the most traded stock by both volume and value, recording 53.58 million shares valued at N9.90 billion.
Sectoral performance was also broadly positive, with the Banking Index rising 2.1 per cent, Industrial Goods 0.5 per cent, Insurance 0.3 per cent and Consumer Goods 0.3 per cent. The Oil & Gas Index, however, declined 0.4 per cent.
Adonri and Olayinka said international market developments, including FTSE Russell’s reclassification and upgrades involving global market institutions, had contributed to improved investor sentiment.
Adonri said the impact of Nigeria’s restoration would become clearer after investors had sufficient time to assess its effect on market fundamentals.
“What is now expected is that at the end of the trading period, we can start to examine the impact of that restoration on the fundamentals of the market,” he said.
Olayinka also projected continued support from domestic investors absorbing selling pressure linked to the Dangote Refinery IPO, which is expected to continue through October 13, when the offer closes
