Nigerian Stock Market Opens February on Upbeat Note, Adds N9bn to Market Cap

The Nigerian stock market yesterday commenced February 2026 trading activities on a positive note, as the major bench appreciated by 0.01 per cent.

The NGX ASI, or Nigerian Exchange Limited All Share Index, closed at 165,384.64 basis points, up 14.24 basis points, or 0.01 percent. To close at N106.162 trillion, market capitalization also increased by N9 billion.

The NGX Insurance fell by 2%, the NGX Banking Index fell by 0.6%, the NGX Consumer Goods fell by 0.4%, the NGX Industrial Goods fell by 0.1%, and the NGX Oil & Gas increased by 2%, indicating a generally poor sectoral performance.

With 44 falling stocks overshadowing 29 rising stocks, the market’s breadth was bearish. Premier Paints and Universal Insurance recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N11.00 and N1.32 respectively, while Daar Communications followed with a gain of 9.93 per cent to close at N1.55, per share.

R.T. Morison Industries increased 9.91 percent to close at N10.98 per share, while Briscoe (Nigeria) increased 9.92 percent to close at N8.64.

Omatek Ventures, on the other hand, closed at N2.70 per share, 10% ahead of the losing chart. DEAP Capital Management & Trust fell 9.90 percent to close at N8.46 per share, while AXA Mansard fell 9.94 percent to close at N14.31.

C & I Leasing depreciated by 9.80 per cent to close at N6.90, while Royal Exchange declined by 9.63 per cent to close at N1.97, per share.

Additionally, there were 55,374 transactions totaling 762.751 million units, valued at N18.409 billion, a 10.96 percent increase in the total volume traded. Transactions in the shares of Tantalizer topped the activity chart with 88.489 million shares valued at N329.387 million. Zenith Bank followed with 40.188 million shares worth N2.873 billion, while Veritas Kapital Assurance traded 39.211 million shares valued at N92.110 million.

Universal Insurance traded 29.298 million shares valued at N38.074 million, while First HoldCo sold 27.635 million shares worth N1.134 billion.

On market outlook, a group of analysts at United Capital Plc said, “Nigerian equities are likely to trade sideways with sector rotation, as liquidity remains supportive, but investors stay selective, favouring oil & gas and insurance stocks amid profit taking in banking sector stocks.”