The Nigerian equities market closed the trading week on a bullish note on Friday, August 7, 2026, adding about N237.8 billion to market capitalisation as gains in the FUGAZ banking stocks outweighed losses across several other sectors.

The benchmark NGX All-Share Index rose 0.15 per cent to close at 245,573.60 points, up from 245,209.34 points in the previous session.

Market capitalisation increased to N158.51 trillion from N158.28 trillion, while the market’s year-to-date return improved to 57.81 per cent.

The rally was driven largely by strong buying interest in FUGAZ banking stocks, Nairametrics acronym for First HoldCo, UBA, GTCO, Access Holdings, Zenith Bank (with the exception of GTCO Plc, which closed flat), while FCMB and Fidelity Bank provided additional support.

The All-Share Index closed at 245,573.60 points, up 0.15 per cent, while market capitalisation stood at N158.51 trillion, also up 0.15 per cent.

The year-to-date market return stood at 57.81 per cent, while total deals declined 5.01 per cent to 42,580.

Trading volume rose 185.55 per cent to 1.52 billion shares, while market turnover, the value traded, rose 30.27 per cent to N26.65 billion.

Market breadth showed 22 stocks gained, while 24 declined.

Among the top five gainers, UPDC rose 9.23 per cent to N3.55 from N3.25, while CWG advanced 6.56 per cent to N19.50 from N18.30.

Mansard gained 4.80 per cent to N13.10 from N12.50, Neimeth rose 4.24 per cent to N8.60 from N8.25, and Cutix advanced 4.00 per cent to N2.60 from N2.50.

Among the top five losers, Red Star Express declined 10.00 per cent to N18.00 from N20.00, while CAP Plc fell 9.98 per cent to N115.45 from N128.25.

John Holt dropped 9.82 per cent to N10.10 from N11.20, ABC Transport fell 9.57 per cent to N5.20 from N5.75, and Legend Internet declined 8.70 per cent to N4.20 from N4.60.

The session’s gains were anchored by major banking heavyweights providing the bulk of support for the benchmark index.

First HoldCo led the banking rally, advancing 3.86 per cent to N145.40 from N140.00, gaining N5.40 per share and trading above its 52-week high.

Access Holdings gained 3.26 per cent to N26.95 from N26.10, while UBA advanced 3.22 per cent to N44.90 from N43.50.

Zenith Bank added 1.61 per cent to N126.00 from N124.00, while FCMB Group rose 1.97 per cent to N12.95 from N12.70.

The banking rally provided significant support to the broader market, with investors continuing to favour large-cap financial stocks.

However, gains were moderated by losses among several heavyweight stocks.

HBM Nigeria, formerly Lafarge Africa, declined 2.01 per cent to N360.00 from N367.40, while Custodian Investment fell 3.61 per cent to N72.10 from N74.80.

NEM Insurance declined 2.74 per cent to N32.00, while Oando dropped 1.24 per cent to N35.75.

Transcorp also slipped 0.51 per cent to N39.00 from N39.20.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with the Banking Index emerging as the strongest performer.

The Banking Index surged 1.53 per cent to 2,586.38 points, extending the sector’s role as the main driver of the market’s recent recovery.

The Consumer Goods Index closed flat at 4,328.65 points, while the Insurance Index declined 0.21 per cent to 1,160.35 points.

The Oil and Gas Index fell 0.04 per cent to 5,240.85 points, while the Industrial Index declined 0.37 per cent to 10,507.25 points.

The Commodity Index remained unchanged at 1,743.53 points.

Market breadth remained negative, with 24 decliners outpacing 22 gainers, indicating that the headline index gain was concentrated largely in heavyweight banking stocks.

Trading activity strengthened significantly during the session.

Total volume traded surged 185.55 per cent to 1.52 billion shares.

Total value settled at N26.65 billion, up 30.27 per cent.

However, the number of transactions declined 5.01 per cent to 42,580 deals.

FTG Insurance was the most traded stock by volume, with 824.46 million shares, accounting for more than half of total market volume.

Access Holdings led by value with N4.67 billion worth of transactions, representing 17.52 per cent of total market value.

Friday’s market performance underscores the growing influence of banking heavyweights, First HoldCo, UBA, GTCO, Access Holdings and Zenith Bank, on the direction of the Nigerian equities market, with First HoldCo, Access Holdings, UBA and Zenith Bank all recording gains.

The strong performance of these banking heavyweights helped the NGX recover from the week’s earlier weakness and close at 245,573.60 points, its highest level since the beginning of the week.

The market moved between a weekly high of 245,730.53 points, recorded on Monday, and a low of 244,802.83 points, recorded on Tuesday, before recovering through the remainder of the week.

The continued strength of banking stocks, particularly the FUGAZ names, suggests that investors remain positioned towards large-cap financial stocks as the market enters the second week of August.

Despite the positive headline performance, market breadth remained negative, suggesting that gains were concentrated in a relatively small number of large-cap stocks rather than reflecting a broad-based rally.

Looking ahead, the market could sustain its bullish bias if banking heavyweights maintain their momentum, although persistent selling pressure across Industrial, Insurance and other counters could continue to limit the breadth of the rally.