Nigeria’s equities market crossed a major milestone on Monday, September 21, 2026, as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index rose above 250,000 points for the first time, pushing its year-to-date return above 60%.
The benchmark index gained 0.14% to close at 250,156.80 points, up from 249,804.56 points on Friday, September 18, according to NGX trading data. The rise lifted the year-to-date return to 60.76%.
Market capitalisation also increased by N228.25 billion, from N162.16 trillion on Friday to N162.39 trillion on Monday.
Trading activity was mixed. The number of deals rose by about 55% to 68,655 from 44,239, while traded volume increased by 9.2% to 574.19 million shares from 525.99 million.
However, market turnover fell sharply by 60.7% to N38.06 billion from N96.89 billion.
Market breadth remained positive, with 38 stocks gaining against 25 decliners. SUNU Assurances Nigeria, NASCON Allied Industries, Omatek Ventures and Thomas Wyatt Nigeria led the gainers, each rising 10%.
On the losing side, Okomu Oil Palm Company fell 10%, while Custodian Investment declined 9.13% and Sovereign Trust Insurance dropped 8.64%.
Banking stocks provided the strongest sectoral support, with the NGX Banking Index rising 0.68%. Industrial Goods gained 0.47%, Insurance rose 0.33% and Consumer Goods advanced 0.32%.
Oil and Gas was among the weaker sectors, falling 0.40%.
Zenith Bank was the most traded stock by both volume and value, with 77.1 million shares worth about N9.9 billion changing hands. GTCO rose 3% to N133.90, while Transcorp gained 6.78% to N37.
The record session also coincided with Nigeria’s return to FTSE Russell’s Frontier Market status. FTSE Russell had confirmed on August 27, 2026, that Nigeria would be reclassified from Unclassified to Frontier Market status from the opening of trading on Monday, September 21.
Six Nigerian companies, FirstHoldCo, GTCO, Zenith Bank, MTN Nigeria, Dangote Cement and Aradel Holdings, were also added to the FTSE Frontier 50 Index with effect from September 21.
The reclassification followed FTSE Russell’s assessment that Nigeria had met the required market-quality conditions. The move is expected to increase the visibility of Nigerian equities among international investors, although index inclusion does not guarantee immediate foreign capital inflows.
The market was also trading ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, which began on Monday, September 21 and was scheduled to end on Tuesday, September 22. The Monetary Policy Rate stood at 26.50% ahead of the meeting.
The meeting came after the National Bureau of Statistics reported on September 15 that headline inflation slowed to 15.39% in August from 15.43% in July. Month-on-month inflation also eased to 0.71% from 1.57%.
The latest market milestone adds to a strong year for Nigerian equities, with investors now weighing continued gains against the possibility of profit-taking after the index’s year-to-date rise of more than 60%.
