Nigerian Equities Market Delivers a Strong Performance in July 2026

The Nigerian equities market delivered a strong performance in July 2026, adding approximately N11.11 trillion to investors’ wealth as sustained buying interest in banking and other fundamentally strong stocks outweighed intermittent profit-taking across consumer goods and oil & gas counters.

The N11.11 trillion gain in July marks a significant recovery from over N13 trillion losses recorded in June because of profit-taking. Consequently, the stock market has recorded N58.97 trillion gains in seven months of 2026.

The market capitalization of listed stocks rose from N99.376 trillion in 2025 to N158.326 trillion at the close of trading on Friday, July 31, 2026, representing an increase of N58.9 trillion or 59.32%.

On month-to-date basis, the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced 6.92% to close at 245,283.68 points on July 31, up from 229,419.18 points at the end of June while the market capitalisation rose to N158.33 trillion, from N147.22 trillion a month earlier, translating to a net gain of about N11.11 trillion in July.

The market’s strong July performance came despite a marginal decline of 0.03% on the final trading session of the month, July 31, after the benchmark index touched an intra-week high of 247,984.55 points before easing lower.

Market summary:

• All-Share Index (ASI): 245,283.68 points, up 6.92% in July.
• Market capitalisation: N158.33 trillion, up 7.55% from N147.22 trillion.
• Market capitalisation gain: Approximately N11.11 trillion during the month.
• Highest index level: 247,984.55 points.
• Lowest index level: 229,419.18 points.
• Banking Index: +22.10% during the month.
• Insurance Index: +9.29%.
• Industrial Index: +3.57%.
• Oil & Gas Index: +3.21%.
• Consumer Goods Index: -4.11%.
• Commodity Index: -0.51%.

Driving the numbers:

July’s rally was driven largely by renewed investor appetite for banking stocks, particularly First HoldCo Plc, as expectations surrounding stronger corporate earnings, recapitalisation activities and institutional positioning lifted the sector throughout the month.

• First HoldCo Plc was the best-performing stock in July, with its share price rising from N56.05 to N129.55, representing a 131.13% monthly gain.
• Airtel Africa Plc more than doubled in value, rising from N4,794.60 to N5,801.40, translating to a 21.00% increase.
• Dangote Sugar: N78.70 up + 16.08% increase from N67.80
• HBM Nigeria Plc (WAPCO): N363.00, up + 17.10% from N310.00

Overall, the July rally was broad-based, with several stocks recording two-digit monthly returns, reflecting strong buying interest across banking, telecoms, infrastructure, real estate and consumer-related sectors.

Sectoral performance:

The NGX Banking Index emerged as the standout performer, climbing from 2,070.11 points at the end of June to 2,527.59 points by July 31, representing a 22.10% monthly gain.

• Insurance stocks also recorded a solid performance, with the NGX Insurance Index rising 9.29% during the month, supported by sustained buying interest across several mid-cap insurers.
• Industrial stocks remained resilient as the Industrial Index advanced 3.57%, while the Oil & Gas Index gained 3.21%, reflecting continued investor interest in selected energy counters despite modest weakness during the final trading sessions of July.
• Consumer goods stocks were the only major laggard, with the Consumer Goods Index declining -4.11% during the month as investors locked in profits after earlier gains and remained selective amid valuation concerns.

The broader market maintained positive momentum for most of July, reaching an intra-week high of 247,984.55 points, before profit-taking trimmed part of the gains towards month-end.

Highlight of sector performance in July:

Sectoral performance during July was largely positive.

• Banking: +22.10%
• Insurance: +9.29%
• Industrial: +3.57%
• Oil & Gas: +3.21% driven by gains in Seplat Energy and Aradel Holdings
• Consumer Goods: -4.11% driven by losses in Nestle, and
• Commodity: -0.51%

The strong advance in banking and insurance stocks more than offset weakness in consumer goods, helping the broader market record one of its strongest monthly performances of the year.

Market highlights:

Investor sentiment remained broadly positive throughout July, with sustained institutional demand supporting fundamentally strong stocks across banking, and industrial sectors which collectively account for huge percentage of market capitalization year-to-date (January to July).

• Of the N158.326 trillion market capitalization as of July 31, Airtel Africa Plc and seven other blue-chip stocks are controlling 63.98% or N101.29 trillion of the Nigerian stock market.
• As of July 31, 2026, the market capitalization of Airtel Africa closed at N21 trillion.
• MTN Nigeria Communications Plc followed with market capitalization of N17.57 trillion.
• Dangote Cement Plc came third with market capitalization of N17.45 trillion
• BUA Foods Plc: N15.21 trillion market capitalization as of July 31, 2026.
• BUA Cement Plc: N10.7 trillion
• Seplat Energy Plc: N6.82 trillion
• First Holdco Plc: N5.89 trillion and
• HBM Nigeria Plc: N5.85 trillion market capitalization

Consequently, the major market indicator, the NGX All Share Index closed for trading July 31, 2026, at 245,283.68 basis points, which is 89,670.65 basis points or 57.6% when compared to 155,613.03 basis points it closed for trading last year.

What you should know:

July marked another month of strong recovery from June correction for the Nigerian equities market, extending gains from earlier months in the year and lifting total market capitalisation above N158 trillion. In terms of year-to-date performance, few sectors emerged as the best-performing segments on the Exchange.

• The Oil & Gas Index posted a year-to-date (YtD) return of 96.3% to 5,242.33 basis points, significantly outperforming the broader market and emerging as the best performing segment.
• The NGX Industrial goods index followed closely with an 85.44% YtD gain to 10,525.17basis points, reflecting strong price appreciation in cement and construction-linked counters.
• The NGX banking index also recorded a solid 66.7% YtD return to 2,527.59 basis points, buoyed by recapitalisation expectation and earnings momentum.
• The NGX consumer goods index rose by 10.82% YtD to 4,405.53 basis points.
• The NGX Insurance Index inched up by 0.9% in its YtD growth to close July 31, 2026, at 1,200.08basis points.

Going into August, market participants are expected to remain focused on half-year corporate earnings releases, dividend expectations, banking recapitalisation developments and macroeconomic policy signals from the Central Bank of Nigeria, all of which are likely to shape trading sentiment in the near term.

-Nairametrics