Market Update For May 11, 2026
The Nigerian equities market opened the new trading week on a strong bullish note on Monday, May 11, 2026, extending the momentum from the previous trading session as investors sustained aggressive buying activities across banking, industrial, consumer goods and selected mid-cap stocks. The local bourse maintained positive sentiment throughout the session, reflecting improved investor confidence, stronger institutional participation and renewed positioning in fundamentally sound companies with attractive earnings prospects and dividend potential.
The sustained rally in the equities market highlights the resilience of listed companies despite prevailing macroeconomic challenges, including elevated inflationary pressures, exchange rate volatility and tight monetary conditions. Investors continued to seek opportunities in quality stocks capable of delivering inflation-beating returns, while sustained liquidity inflow into the market further strengthened buying momentum across major sectors.
Banking stocks remained the major drivers of the market rally as investors intensified positioning in tier-one and mid-tier financial institutions ahead of expected earnings growth, improved balance sheet performance and stronger capital adequacy levels. The sector continued to attract significant institutional demand due to its relative resilience, earnings visibility and attractive dividend outlook.
Industrial goods stocks also witnessed sustained accumulation as investors maintained positive sentiment toward cement and infrastructure-related companies on expectations of improved construction activities and stronger demand conditions. Consumer goods counters equally recorded renewed interest, particularly in companies with strong market share, pricing power and stable revenue generation capacity.
The bullish performance of the Nigerian market was equally supported by developments in the international oil market, where crude oil prices rebounded amid renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures rose by $1.83 or 1.8% to settle at $103.12 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.55 or 1.6% to close at $96.97 per barrel.
Earlier during the trading session, Brent crude touched an intraday high of $105.99, while WTI climbed to $100.37 before easing slightly. The rebound followed renewed concerns over supply disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. President Donald Trump described Iran’s response to a proposed U.S. peace arrangement as “unacceptable.”
The renewed geopolitical uncertainty weakened earlier expectations of a quick resolution to the prolonged U.S.-Iran conflict and reignited concerns surrounding global oil supply stability. Continued disruptions around major oil transit routes and tightening global supply conditions further supported the rebound in energy prices.
The improvement in crude oil prices positively influenced sentiment around energy and oil-linked counters on the Nigerian Exchange while also strengthening broader optimism regarding Nigeria’s fiscal revenue outlook and foreign exchange inflows. Sustained strength in crude oil prices remains a major support factor for the domestic economy and financial market, given the country’s heavy dependence on crude oil exports.
Across the domestic market, buying activities remained broad-based as investors accumulated positions in large-cap and medium-cap stocks across major sectors of the market. The rally also reflected sustained confidence in the long-term outlook of the equities market as investors continued to rotate funds into sectors expected to benefit from improving corporate earnings and economic recovery expectations.
The consistent upward movement in high-capitalisation stocks further highlighted the growing participation of institutional investors, while retail investors also remained active in momentum-driven and speculative trades within selected mid-cap counters. The broad-based market advance indicates that investors are increasingly diversifying exposure across multiple sectors rather than concentrating solely on a few highly capitalised stocks.
Technical Analysis & Outlook:
Technically, the Nigerian equities market remains strongly bullish as the NGX All-Share Index successfully crossed and closed above the major psychological resistance level of 250,000 points. The breakout confirms sustained upward momentum and reinforces the prevailing bullish structure of the market. The index continues to maintain a pattern of higher highs and higher lows, reflecting persistent buying pressure and sustained investor confidence.
The sharp increase in transaction volume and traded value indicates stronger market participation and continued institutional accumulation across key sectors. Momentum indicators remain positive, while the strong market breadth recorded during the session suggests broad participation in the ongoing rally. Banking stocks continue to provide leadership for the market, while industrial, consumer goods and energy counters are increasingly contributing to overall market strength.
Despite the sustained bullish momentum, the market appears to be gradually approaching overbought territory following its prolonged rally in recent weeks. This could trigger intermittent profit-taking and short-term price corrections in highly appreciated counters. Nevertheless, the overall market outlook remains positive as investors continue to position in fundamentally sound companies with strong earnings visibility, resilient balance sheets and attractive dividend yield.
In the near term, bargain hunting, sector rotation and institutional positioning are expected to persist, especially within the banking, industrial, energy and consumer goods sectors. Market direction will continue to be influenced by corporate earnings performance, macroeconomic developments, exchange rate stability, monetary policy expectations and movements in global crude oil prices.
At the close of trading, the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 2.33% to close at 250,481.42 points from 244,775.83 points recorded in the previous trading session. Market capitalisation appreciated significantly by N3.16trn, while the market’s year-to-date return strengthened further to 60.96%, reflecting the sustained bullish momentum that has characterised the Nigerian equities market in recent months.
Market breadth closed firmly positive with 59 gainers against 21 decliners, highlighting broad-based buying interest across major sectors. Major market movers included UHOMREIT (+10.00%), BERGER (+9.99%), MECURE (+9.99%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+9.96%), ETERNA (+8.79%), DANGCEM (+8.46%), TIP (+7.24%), UNILEVER (+7.14%), NASCON (+6.73%), UACN (+6.73%), NAHCO (+6.40%), GTCO (+6.25%), UBA (+5.75%), ETI (+5.68%), NGXGROUP (+5.47%), ZENITHBANK (+4.76%), NB (+3.51%), TRANSCORP (+3.37%), WAPCO (+3.33%), BUACEMENT (+2.90%), PZ (+2.58%), MTNN (+2.32%) and IKEJAHOTEL (+0.14%).
Top gainers for the session were CHAMS, which appreciated by 10.00% to close at N3.74, FTNCOCOA which gained 10.00% to settle at N9.13, LIVESTOCK which rose by 10.00% to close at N15.18, RTBRISCOE which advanced by 10.00% to N3.63 and UHOMREIT which appreciated by 10.00% to close at N63.25. On the losers’ chart, PRESTIGE recorded the highest decline, shedding 10.00% to close at N1.08, while other declining counters witnessed mild profit-taking activities during the session.
Also, FTNCOCOA, BERGER and ZICHIS traded above their respective 52-week highs at N9.13, N119.45 and N36.69 respectively, reflecting sustained momentum, heightened speculative interest and increased investor confidence in the affected counters.
Trading activity strengthened considerably during the session as total volume traded rose by 28.65% to 1.49bn shares valued at N68.45bn exchanged in 94,834 deals. VERITASKAP emerged as the most traded stock by volume with 194.63m shares, accounting for 13.10% of total market volume traded. MTNN recorded the highest traded value at N12.39bn, representing 18.10% of total market turnover. ACCESSCORP and FIRSTHOLDCO accounted for 11.59% and 10.02% of total traded volume respectively, while FIRSTHOLDCO and DANGCEM followed MTNN on the value chart, highlighting sustained institutional activity in highly capitalised and fundamentally strong counters.
