LAGOS — The Nigerian equities market sustained its upward trajectory at the close of trading on Friday, September 4, 2026, adding approximately ₦405.67 billion to investor wealth on the back of strong price appreciation in heavyweights like Nigerian Breweries Plc, Aradel Holdings, and Abbey Mortgage Bank.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 604.22 points or 0.25 percent to close at 246,992.44 points, rising from 246,388.22 points recorded on Thursday. Concurrently, total market capitalisation grew by 0.25 percent to reach ₦159.558 trillion, up from ₦159.153 trillion in the prior session. The strong performance pushed the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return to 58.72 percent.
Despite the overall capitalisation expansion, market breadth closed negative, as 31 stocks registered price declines against 28 gainers. The trading session was heavily anchored by consumer goods giant Nigerian Breweries Plc, which surged by 9.93 percent to close at ₦82.45 per share, leading the Consumer Goods Index to top sector performance. Additional support was provided by Abbey Mortgage Bank (+10% to ₦7.70), Royal Exchange (+10% to ₦1.10), John Holt (+9.89% to ₦10.00), Aradel Holdings (+2.74% to ₦1,489.80), and Fidelity Bank (+2.56% to ₦20.00). Conversely, decliners were led by Red Star Express and Haldane McCall, both losing 10 percent to close at ₦13.95 and ₦3.60 per share, respectively.
Market activity experienced a dramatic surge in volume and turnover due to significant block trades. Total volume traded jumped by 416.66 percent to 2.24 billion shares, valued at ₦73.41 billion across 42,709 deals. Fortis Global Insurance dominated trading volume with 1.45 billion shares (accounting for 64.85 percent of the day’s total volume), while energy giant Seplat Energy Plc generated the highest transaction value, accounting for ₦32.24 billion (43.91 percent of total market turnover). Sector-wise, the Consumer Goods Index led the daily advance, followed by the Oil & Gas Index (+1.12%), the Commodity Index (+0.79%), and the Banking Index (+0.44%).
