Stock Market roars into New Year as Investors pocket ₦561bn gain

By Taiye Olayemi

Nigeria’s stock market began the new year on a bullish note on Friday, delivering a ₦561 billion boost to investors’ portfolios amid sustained demand for key stocks.

Market capitalisation climbed by 0.57 per cent, rising from ₦99.376 trillion at the previous close to ₦99.937 trillion, reflecting renewed optimism among market participants.

In tandem, the All-Share Index advanced by 879.33 points, also a 0.57 per cent increase, to settle at 156,492.36, compared with 155,613.03 recorded in the last trading session of 2025.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, gains were broad-based, with strong performances from FTN Cocoa Processors, ABC Transport, Mutual Benefits Assurance, Deap Capital Management, Aluminium Extrusion Industries and 48 other stocks driving the market higher.

Market breadth closed firmly positive, as 53 equities appreciated while only 10 declined.

FTN Cocoa Processors, ABC Transport, Mutual Benefits Assurance and Deap Capital Management topped the gainers’ chart with maximum price increases of 10 per cent each, closing at ₦5.50, ₦4.51, ₦3.41 and ₦2.09 per share, respectively. Aluminium Extrusion Industries followed closely, rising by 9.93 per cent to ₦23.80.

On the downside, Abbey Mortgage Bank led the laggards with a 6.25 per cent drop to ₦6.00. First City Monument Bank declined by 4.56 per cent to ₦11.50, while Seplat Energy shed 3.43 per cent to close at ₦5,610 per share. Guinea Insurance and Universal Insurance also closed lower.

Trading activity showed mixed signals. While the number of deals increased, both volume and value traded fell compared with the previous session. A total of 439.9 million shares worth ₦24.9 billion exchanged hands in 40,245 transactions, against 1.23 billion shares valued at ₦35.13 billion traded in 27,884 deals in the prior session.

Chams led the volume chart with 120.3 million shares worth ₦455.09 million, followed by Linkage Assurance, Lasaco Assurance, Aradel Holdings and Access Corporation.

The strong opening performance underscores growing investor confidence as the market enters 2026, with participants positioning ahead of anticipated corporate earnings and macroeconomic signals in the weeks ahead.