The Nigerian equities market opened the week on a positive footing on Monday, August 3, 2026, with gains in major banking stocks lifting the benchmark index despite broad-based weakness across insurance and consumer goods counters.
Investors added ₦288.44 billion to market capitalisation as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced 0.18% to close at 245,730.53 points, from 245,283.68 points in the previous session.
Market capitalisation increased to ₦158.61 trillion, while the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return improved to 57.91%.
What the data is saying
The market recorded a modest gain, supported primarily by banking heavyweights.
Market summary
* NGX All-Share Index (ASI): 245,730.53 points (+0.18%).
* Market capitalisation: ₦158.61 trillion (+₦288.44 billion).
* Year-to-date return: 57.91%.
* Month-to-date return: 0.18%.
* Trading volume: 923.01 million shares (-2.12%).
* Market turnover: ₦37.85 billion (-19.02%).
* Deals executed: 72,544 (+30.76%).
* Market breadth: 24 gainers versus 38 losers.
Top performers
The session’s best-performing stocks included:
* Eterna: +10.00% to ₦36.30.
* Caverton Offshore Support Group: +10.00% to ₦5.50.
* Omatek Ventures: +9.88% to ₦1.78.
* AVA Capital: +9.70% to ₦9.05.
* Vitafoam Nigeria: +7.90% to ₦194.00.
Top losers
The biggest decliners were:
* Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI): -9.95% to ₦80.10.
* Cadbury Nigeria: -9.92% to ₦58.10.
* Thomas Wyatt Nigeria: -9.82% to ₦3.95.
* Wapic Insurance: -9.80% to ₦2.30.
* Consolidated Hallmark Insurance: -9.79% to ₦3.50.
More insights
The market’s positive close was driven largely by renewed buying in large-cap banking stocks.
Among the key gainers:
* First HoldCo rose 3.43% to ₦134.00, remaining one of the session’s strongest contributors.
* UBA gained 3.37% to ₦46.00.
* Zenith Bank advanced 1.05% to ₦124.90.
* Fidelity Bank climbed 1.16% to ₦21.80.
* GTCO added 0.77% to ₦131.00.
* Access Holdings edged up 0.19% to ₦26.35.
* MTN Nigeria gained 0.96% to ₦845.00.
* NASCON Allied Industries rose 2.63% to ₦195.00.
However, gains were partially offset by losses in several heavyweight stocks, including:
* ETI (-9.95%).
* Cadbury Nigeria (-9.92%).
* Custodian Investment (-6.50%).
* Oando (-4.78%).
* Transcorp (-4.76%).
* Dangote Sugar Refinery (-2.16%).
* Nigerian Breweries (-1.37%).
Sector performance
Performance across sectors was mixed:
* Banking Index: +0.75% (best-performing sector).
* Industrial Index: +0.21%.
* Insurance Index: -1.78% (largest decline).
* Consumer Goods Index: -0.18%.
* Oil & Gas Index: -0.09%.
* Commodity Index: Unchanged.
Although the benchmark index closed higher, market breadth remained negative, with 38 declining stocks outnumbering 24 gainers, suggesting that advances were concentrated in a handful of large-cap stocks.
What you should know
Despite a decline in trading volume and turnover, investor participation improved, as reflected by the sharp increase in the number of deals executed.
Other notable highlights include:
* Access Holdings was the most actively traded stock by volume, with 166.64 million shares exchanged.
* Aradel Holdings recorded the highest value of trades at ₦4.59 billion.
The session underscores the continued influence of banking heavyweights on the Nigerian market. While gains in major financial stocks were sufficient to lift the benchmark index, the negative market breadth indicates that buying interest has yet to spread broadly across the market, making upcoming earnings releases and sector-specific developments key drivers of investor sentiment in the weeks ahead.
