Nigerian stocks close up as banking heavyweights lift market cap by N237.8bn
The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a bullish note on Friday, August 7, 2026, adding about N237.8 billion to market capitalisation as gains in the FUGAZ banking stocks outweighed losses elsewhere. The benchmark NGX All-Share Index rose 0.15% to close at 245,573.60 points, up from 245,209.34, while market capitalisation increased to N158.51 trillion from N158.28 trillion and the year‑to‑date return improved to 57.81%.
The rally was led by First HoldCo (+3.86% to N145.40), Access Holdings (+3.26% to N26.95), UBA (+3.22% to N44.90) and Zenith Bank (+1.61% to N126.00); GTCO closed flat. FCMB and Fidelity Bank also provided support. Top gainers included UPDC (+9.23% to N3.55) and Cutix (+4.00% to N2.60), while Red Star Express (−10.00% to N18.00) and CAP Plc (−9.98% to N115.45) led losers. Trading activity surged, with volume up 185.55% to 1.52 billion shares and turnover up 30.27% to N26.65 billion; FTG Insurance accounted for over half the volume and Access Holdings led by value at N4.67 billion.
With banking stocks driving most of the gain and market breadth remaining negative (22 gainers vs 24 decliners), the rally appears concentrated in a few heavyweights. Should you increase your exposure to financials given their current momentum, or diversify to mitigate the risk of a pullback if banking sentiment shifts?