Equities Market Begins August On Bullish Note, Gains N289bn

Nigerian equities market began the month of August 2026 on a bullish note, recording N289 billion in gains on the first trading day.

The All-Share Index (ASI) gained 446.85 points, representing a gain of 0.18 per cent to close at 245,730.53 points. Also, market capitalisation rose by N289 billion to close at N158.614 trillion.

The upturn was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are; Vitafoam Nigeria, MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN), NASCON Allied Industries, First Holdco and HBM Nigeria.

Looking ahead, Cowry Assets Management Limited said, the market is expected to sustain its bullish trend as investor sentiment tilts increasingly positive, though residual profit-taking activity from the prior week could temper the pace of any recovery.

Investor sentiment was negative, as 38 decliners outpaced 24 advancers. Eterna and Caverton Offshore Support Group emerged the highest price gainer of 10 per cent each to close at N36.30 and N5.50 respectively, while Omatek Ventures followed with a gain of 9.88 per cent to close at N1.78, per share.

AVA Capital rose by 9.70 per cent to close at N9.05, while Vitafoam Nigeria up by 7.90 per cent to close at N194.00, per share.

On the other side, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) led others on the losers’ chart with 9.95 per cent to close at N80.10 per share. Cadbury Nigeria followed with a decline of 9.92 per cent to close at N58.10, while Thomas Wyatt Nigeria declined by 9.82 per cent to close at N3.95, per share

Wapic Insurance shed 9.80 per cent to close at N2.30, while Critical Minerals Financing Corporation (CMFC) lost 9.79 per cent to close at N3.50, per share.

The total volume traded declined by 2.1 per cent to 923.01 million units, valued at N37.85 billion, and exchanged in 72,544 deals. Transactions in Access Holdings shares led activity, with 166.642 million shares worth N4.416 billion. Honeywell Flour Mills followed with account of 93.548 million shares valued at N1.644 billion, while Sterling Financial Holdings Company traded 57.079 million shares valued at N455.396 million.

Universal Insurance traded 51.824 million shares worth N45.773 million, while Chams Holding Company traded 33.788 million shares worth N152.471 million.