NGX market capitalisation tops N164 trillion on bank-led rally

Trading on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the final week of September with market capitalisation at a record N164 trillion, extending a nine-month advance that has added well over N60 trillion to investor wealth.

The benchmark All-Share Index ended September above 250,000 points — an all-time high — after a series of consecutive record closes through the month. Financial-sector shares provided much of the momentum, with heavy turnover concentrated in banking stocks.

Bank stocks power the run

On 28 September, total equity volume crossed one billion shares for the first time in months, with 1.02 billion shares traded across 61,661 deals, according to Nairametrics. A week earlier, a single session had lifted the market by N297.21 billion to N162.68 trillion as investors bought into lenders ahead of first-half earnings.

The opening weeks of the rally were led by banking names — Access Holdings, Zenith, GTCO and their holding-company structures — as investors positioned for the tail of the CBN's recapitalisation programme and for interim dividends.

What analysts say is driving the rally

Market watchers attribute the run to a combination of robust corporate earnings, improving foreign-exchange liquidity, pension-system reform flows and renewed optimism around banking, manufacturing and energy stocks. The number of listed companies valued above N1 trillion has risen to 25, according to BusinessDay.

Observers caution that valuations are stretched in places and that the pace of gains could be tested by profit-taking once the first-half reporting season concludes.

Sources

Nairametrics, “Bank stocks fuel NGX surge as market cap hits N162.68 trillion” (22 Sep 2026); Nairametrics, “NGX market capitalisation hits record N163.06 trillion as ASI rises 0.23%” (23 Sep 2026); Nairametrics, “NGX market cap hits record N164 trillion as trading volume surges” (28 Sep 2026); BusinessDay, “Dangote’s fresh $36.5bn fortune…” (2026).