Nigerian stocks surge past 250k points, market cap exceeds N162 trillion
Nigerian stocks surged as the NGX All-Share Index broke past 250,000 points, reaching 250,156.80 with a 0.14% daily gain and 61% year-to-date increase, while market capitalisation exceeded N162 trillion. Trading activity showed improved breadth—39 advancers against 25 decliners—deals rose to 68,655 from 44,293, volume grew 9.16% to 574.19 million units worth N38.06 billion, and the concentration of top stocks fell to 26% of value from nearly 70% the previous Friday, indicating deeper market participation.
The rally is driven by macroeconomic reforms, enforced financial consolidation, and renewed international interest. Banking stocks posted a 4.43% weekly rise and 74.22% YTD gain, while the Oil & Gas sector advanced 125.94% YTD, boosted by names like Aradel. Consumer goods firms paid N70.1 billion in royalties and fees in H1 2026, and Seplat hit an all-time high of N16,000 per share. Meanwhile, profit‑taking appeared in high‑value counters such as Okomu Oil (down ~10%) and Custodian (down ~9%), highlighting a divergence between blue‑chip leaders and some gainers.
Institutional rebalancing ahead of the Q3 reporting season, pension fund inflows, and the official FTSE Russell Frontier Market reclassification are supporting the trend, though a resistance ceiling near 254,000 points and possible volume exhaustion on up‑moves warrant caution. Will you increase exposure to banking and oil‑and‑gas stocks given their strong YTD performance, or stay diversified to guard against selective profit‑taking?