Nigerian Stock Market Surpasses Historic N160 Trillion Mark Amidst Sustained Interest

The Nigerian stock market opened the week with a significant milestone, crossing the historic N160 trillion mark in market capitalisation. This surge was primarily fueled by renewed buying interest, with Airtel Africa Plc emerging as a standout performer. The telecommunications giant saw its stock price climb by 8.59%, contributing N1.91 trillion to the market's overall value and pushing it to N160.422 trillion from N158.513 trillion at the week's opening.

Airtel Africa's impressive gain also cemented its position as the most capitalised stock on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), reaching a market capitalisation of N23.7 trillion by the close of trading on August 10, 2026. The All-Share Index (NGX ASI) followed suit, appreciating by 1.20% to close at 248,529.75 basis points. This performance has improved the NGX ASI's year-to-date return to 59.71%.

Despite the overall positive trend in market capitalisation and the index, investor sentiment appeared mixed. A total of 36 stocks declined compared to 23 that advanced. Among the top gainers were Fortis Global Insurance, Chams Holding Company, NAHCO, Airtel Africa, and Sovereign Trust Insurance. Conversely, AVA Capital, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Caverton Offshore Support Group, Ikeja Hotel, and FTN Cocoa Processors were among the notable decliners.

Trading volume saw a decrease of 25.11%, with 1.137 billion units valued at N27.017 billion exchanged across 59,185 deals. Analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited anticipate the market's bullish trend to continue, citing an increasingly positive investor sentiment, although they caution that residual profit-taking could moderate the pace of recovery.

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the market is expected to sustain its bullish trend as investor sentiment tilts increasingly positive, though residual profit-taking activity could temper the pace of any recovery.