The Nigerian equities market opened the week on a strong note on Monday, July 20, 2026, extending the previous session’s gains.
Sustained buying interest in banking, industrial, insurance, and other large-cap stocks pushed the benchmark index to a fresh record high and significantly boosted investors’ wealth.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 1.12% to close at 246,183.96 points, up from 243,462.13 points in the previous session.
Total market capitalization increased by approximately ₦1.76 trillion, while the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return climbed to 58.20%.
The positive performance was primarily driven by gains in banking heavyweights, selected consumer goods stocks, and other sector leaders.
Major gainers included NEM (+10.00%), CUSTODIAN (+10.00%), BUACEMENT (+9.98%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+9.95%), NGXGROUP (+6.63%), UBA (+6.37%), ETERNA (+5.90%), GUINNESS (+3.34%), TIP (+3.33%), ZENITHBANK (+2.37%), ACCESSCORP (+2.00%), WEMABANK (+1.48%), OANDO (+1.28%), and UNILEVER (+0.81%), alongside gains in 17 other counters.
Overall market breadth closed neutral, with 31 gainers matching 31 losers, pointing to an evenly balanced trading session. Nevertheless, the market maintained its bullish momentum as substantial price appreciation in high-capitalization stocks more than offset losses across other equities.
FIRSTHOLDCO topped the gainers’ chart, surging past its 52-week high of ₦87.25 to close at ₦95.95, while REDSTAREX led the decliners.
Trading activity strengthened during the session, as total volume traded advanced by 24.17% to 851.63 million units, valued at ₦49.59 billion across 56,873 deals.
FIRSTHOLDCO dominated activity charts, recording the highest volume and value with 203.94 million units traded worth ₦21.52 billion accounting for 23.95% of total market volume and 43.38% of total value.
ACCESSCORP and UBA accounted for 22.39% and 3.43% of total volume, respectively, while HBMNG and ACCESSCORP followed FIRSTHOLDCO in traded value.