Fidelity, Access Holdings Lead Market as 953m Shares Trade, ASI Up 1.01%

Trading on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the last weekday of the week on a positive note, driven by strong investor participation and notable gains across key market indicators. A total of 953.71 million shares changed hands in 50,984 deals, representing a turnover of ₦43.04 billion. Compared with the previous trading day, volume rose 34 per cent, turnover surged 94 per cent, and the number of deals increased 11 per cent, signaling renewed market confidence. The NGX’s total market capitalisation closed at ₦110.2 trillion.

Market breadth was firmly positive, with 132 equities participating in trading. A total of 60 stocks gained, while 19 declined. Leading the gainers, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company recorded a 10 per cent increase to close at ₦136.40 per share. Deap Capital Management & Trust and Omatek Ventures also gained 10 per cent each, while Zichis Agro Allied Industries rose by 9.98 per cent. On the downside, The Initiates led the laggards with a 9.74 per cent decline to ₦19.45 per share, followed by Daar Communications (-7.32%), United Capital (-6.55%), and Coronation Insurance (-5.71%).

In terms of trading activity, Fidelity Bank was the most active, recording 92.4 million shares traded. Chams followed with 69.2 million shares, Deap Capital Management & Trust traded 59.1 million shares, and Access Holdings saw 57.2 million shares exchange hands. The active participation of these companies helped drive market momentum and investor interest across sectors.

The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced 1,722.13 points, or 1.01 per cent, closing at 171,727.49 points. This marked a one-week gain of 3.84 per cent, a four-week gain of 5.81 per cent, and a year-to-date return of 10.36 per cent, reflecting consistent market recovery and optimism.

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Sector performance was broadly positive, with the NGX Oil and Gas Index rising 2.47 per cent, the Insurance Index gaining 2.16 per cent, and the Industrial Index increasing 1.7 per cent. The NGX Premium Index advanced 1.21 per cent, the NGX Pension Index rose 1.19 per cent, and the Top 30 Index added 0.95 per cent, demonstrating broad-based investor confidence.

The strong performance of major banking and industrial stocks, led by Fidelity Bank and Access Holdings, underscores renewed investor optimism as the market positions ahead of upcoming corporate and macroeconomic developments.