Market Update For September 28, 2026
The Nigerian equities market commenced the new trading week on a positive footing, with investors returning to selected stocks after the market ended its 11-session winning streak with a marginal decline on Friday. The renewed buying interest was concentrated in banking, industrial and consumer counters, as investors continued to take positions in stocks with strong liquidity and favourable market interest.
The session reflected a largely selective trading pattern rather than a broad-based rally across the entire market. While several major stocks attracted fresh demand, others remained under pressure, highlighting the continued divergence in individual stock performance despite the broader positive direction of the market.
Financial stocks remained at the centre of market activity, with FIDELITYBK recording an exceptionally strong session. The stock dominated trading by both volume and value, accounting for more than half of the shares exchanged across the market. Its performance also contributed significantly to the overall strength of market turnover.
Other major banking stocks recorded positive movements. UBA, ETI, ACCESSCORP, FIRSTHOLDCO and ZENITHBANK all closed higher, providing support to the broader index. The continued interest in banking counters reflects their high liquidity and significant weighting within the Nigerian equities market, making their performance an important driver of the overall direction of the NGX.
The positive sentiment also extended to selected industrial and consumer stocks. ETERNA emerged as one of the strongest performers among the actively traded equities, while UACN and FIDSON also advanced. These movements suggest that investors are continuing to look beyond the banking sector for opportunities, although the strength of participation remains uneven across sectors and individual counters.
The session also produced notable movements in stocks approaching or breaking their 52-week price levels. UPDCREIT closed at ₦19.95, moving above its previous 52-week high of ₦19.85. The move indicates continued demand for the counter and places the stock at a new price level that investors may monitor for further momentum or profit-taking.
On the other side of the market, LEGENDINT closed at ₦3.35 compared with its previous 52-week low of ₦3.40, indicating renewed selling pressure in the counter. The contrasting performance of UPDCREIT and LEGENDINT reflects the stock-specific nature of the market, where individual counters continue to experience different levels of demand and supply.
Market turnover remained robust during Monday’s session, with investors exchanging 1.02 billion shares valued at ₦39.56 billion in 61,661 deals. The level of activity indicates that liquidity remains healthy despite the market’s extended upward run.
FIDELITYBK accounted for 528 million shares valued at ₦10.63 billion, representing 51.52% of total market volume and 26.88% of total traded value. The concentration of activity in the banking stock was a major feature of the session.
ACCESSCORP and CHAMS followed among the most actively traded stocks by volume, accounting for 5.56% and 4.04% of total market volume, respectively. SEPLAT and ARADEL also ranked among the leading stocks by traded value.
The strong concentration of volume in FIDELITYBK suggests that overall market activity was significantly influenced by transactions in a single highly liquid counter. While elevated turnover generally points to increased participation, the sustainability of the broader market advance would benefit from greater participation across a wider range of stocks.
The positive breadth provided additional support for the session. However, with 33 stocks advancing against 23 decliners, the margin between gainers and losers was relatively moderate. This suggests that investors remain selective, with buying concentrated in specific counters rather than distributed evenly across the market.
Such selective participation is important as the NGX continues to trade around record-high levels. Investors may increasingly focus on earnings prospects, valuation, liquidity, corporate actions and sector-specific developments when determining which stocks to accumulate.
The banking sector remained one of the major areas of investor attention during the session. FIDELITYBK recorded the largest turnover by a significant margin, while UBA, ACCESSCORP, FIRSTHOLDCO, ETI and ZENITHBANK all recorded gains.
The movement in these stocks helped reinforce the contribution of financial equities to the overall market performance. With banks among the most liquid and widely followed stocks on the NGX, sustained buying interest in the sector could remain an important factor for the index.
However, the concentration of trading activity in selected financial stocks also means that investors may need to watch whether the gains are accompanied by wider participation from other sectors. A more diversified advance would provide a broader base for the market’s current upward trend.
Oil Market
International oil prices advanced by about 2% on Monday as renewed tensions between the United States and Iran heightened concerns around crude supplies and the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures gained $2.28, or 2.2%, to trade at $106.60 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose $1.70, or 1.8%, to $94.11. Brent was on course for its highest closing level since September 15.
The increase followed developments surrounding the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Iran maintained over the weekend that diplomacy remained the route to resolving the dispute, while US President Donald Trump said he had rejected an Iranian proposal concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and ending the fighting.
Despite the disagreement, Trump indicated that US negotiators could engage in further discussions during the week, leaving room for additional diplomatic developments.
The oil market remains particularly important for Nigeria because changes in crude prices can affect government revenues, foreign exchange inflows and the country’s external position. A sustained rise in oil prices could provide additional support for Nigeria’s external earnings, although heightened geopolitical tensions could simultaneously increase volatility across global markets.
For domestic investors, movements in crude prices will therefore remain an important external factor to monitor alongside monetary policy, inflation, exchange-rate developments and corporate earnings.
Technical Analysis and Outlook
Technically, the NGX All-Share Index continues to maintain a positive structure after breaking and consolidating above the 250,000-point psychological level. Monday’s close at 252,635.11 points kept the index comfortably above that level and further reinforced the market’s upward trajectory.
The immediate level to watch remains the 253,000-point region. A decisive move above this level, particularly if supported by stronger volume and improved breadth, could provide room for further gains toward the 255,000-point area.
On the downside, the 252,000-point level has become an important near-term support zone. Holding above this area would help preserve the current short-term structure, while a break below it could trigger some consolidation. The 250,000-point level remains a wider psychological support zone and could become important if profit-taking increases.
The market’s technical strength, however, needs to be assessed alongside participation. Although the ASI continues to advance, the relatively selective nature of the rally means that investors may remain sensitive to individual stock valuations and the pace of price appreciation.
Volume will also remain a key indicator. Further advances accompanied by strong turnover and broader participation would suggest that demand remains firm. Conversely, rising prices accompanied by narrowing breadth and declining participation could indicate that the market is becoming increasingly dependent on a smaller group of stocks.
The recent performance of stocks such as UPL, ABCTRANS, ETERNA and SOVRENINS also shows that speculative and momentum-driven activity remains present in parts of the market. While such moves can contribute to short-term gains, investors are likely to continue assessing whether price appreciation is supported by underlying company fundamentals.
With the index already delivering a strong year-to-date return, the market may increasingly enter a phase where stock selection becomes more important than broad market exposure. Investors could therefore continue to rotate between sectors and counters based on earnings expectations, liquidity and valuation considerations.
The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 0.21% to 252,635.11 points from 252,113.41 points, while market capitalisation increased by ₦343.69 billion and YTD performance rose to 62.35%. Total market activity stood at 1.02 billion shares valued at ₦39.56 billion across 61,661 deals, with FIDELITYBK contributing 528 million shares worth ₦10.63 billion. Market breadth closed positive at 33 gainers against 23 decliners, while FIDELITYBK, ETERNA, UACN, FIRSTHOLDCO, UBA and ACCESSCORP were among the notable market movers. Top gainers: UPL (+9.89%), ABCTRANS (+9.80%), ETERNA (+9.62%), SOVRENINS (+9.17%) and ZICHIS (+8.98%). Top losers: FTGINSURE (-9.50%), TRANSEXPR (-8.47%), RTBRISCOE (-6.07%), WAPIC (-6.03%) and OMATEK (-4.73%).
