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The Nigerian equity market closed trading activities for today on a bullish note, as key performance indicators showed mixed outcomes. The NGX-ASI increased by +0.98%, while the Market Capitalization rose by +1.00%. The mixed performances of these indicators can be attributed to the additional listing of 12,320,000,000 Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo Each Arising from Linkage Assurance Plc’s Rights Issue of 12,320,000,000 Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo each at N1.32 Per Share. Consequently, the market index (All-Share Index) added 2,413.03 basis points in today’s trading session, reflecting a 0.98% increase to close at 247,831.40. Likewise, Market Capitalization gained ₦1,575.30 billion, representing a growth of 1.00%, settling at ₦159.89 trillion. The market rebound, led by the Banking sector, offset the losses from the previous session, as renewed bargain hunting and strong buying interest in mid-cap and blue-chip stocks lifted the market.
However, the Total Volume of trades and the Total Value traded declined by -37.54% and -52.36% respectively. Approximately 782.35 million units valued at ₦56,301.67 million were transacted across 46,273 deals. As regards volume, FIRSTHOLDCO generated 13.65% to emerge the most traded, followed by ACCESSCORP (11.87%), VFDGROUP (11.86%), GTCO (9.56%), and DANGSUGAR with 4.05%. On value traded, FIRSTHOLDCO generated 22.21% of the total value of trade, thereby making it the highest traded on the exchange.
Meanwhile, on the best performers’ chart, GUINNESS and ZICHIS led by generating +10.00% each, then trailed by ACCESSCORP (+9.98%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+9.91%), CWG (+8.50%), MANSARD (+8.30%), CADBURY (+7.66%), and twenty-eight others. A total of twenty-seven (27) stocks depreciated. With a price depreciation of -9.96%, MECURE topped the worst performers’ chart, followed by FTNCOCOA (-9.16%), OMATEK (-7.89%), AFRIPRUD (-4.44%), CORNERST (-4.35%), and RTBRISCOE (-4.31%). Hence, the market breadth closed on a positive note, as there were 35 gainers and 27 losers.
Finally, the market sectoral performance was positive today as all five major market sectors increased. The Banking sector led by +3.92%, followed by the Industrial goods sector (+1.27%), the Insurance sector (+0.75%), the Consumer Goods sector (+0.63%), and the Oil & Gas sector (+0.04%).
Following the recently released data by NBS, the country’s GDP stood at 3.89% in Q1’2026, marking a 18bps decline from the 4.07% recorded in Q4’2025. However, on a year-on-year basis, the growth rate in the first quarter of the year reflects a 78bps improvement compared to the 3.13% posted in Q1’ 2025.
Sectoral GDP Dynamics: Oil vs. Non-Oil
The non-oil sector contributed 96.08% to total GDP in Q1’2026 a decline from 97.13% in Q4 2025, but higher than 96.03% recorded in Q1 2025. Conversely, the Oil sector’s contribution increased by 1.05% to 3.92% in Q1’2026, from 2.87% in Q4 2025, but dropped by 0.05% when compared to 3.97% contributed in Q1’2025, due to reduction in crude oil production compared to the previous quarter. Furthermore, in terms of growth, the Oil sector receded by 4.22% points, recording a growth rate of 2.57% in Q1’2026, compared to 6.79% in Q4’2025. Likewise, the non-oil sector recorded real GDP growth of 3.94%, down by 0.05% points compared to 3.99% in Q4’2025.
The country’s crude oil production averaged 1.55mbpd in Q1’2026, which was lower than the daily average crude oil production of 1.62mbpd recorded in the same quarter of 2025, and 0.03mbpd lower than the Q4’2025 production volume of 1.58mbpd.
Mixed Narrative in the Agricultural Sector
Agricultural sector posted a real growth rate of 3.15% in Q1’2026, a decline of 85bps from 4.00% growth recorded in Q4’2025. However, the sector’s performance expanded by 3.08% points when compared to Q1’2025, when it grew by 0.07%. The 85bps decline from the 4.00% growth recorded in Q4’2025 is a typical seasonal phenomenon in Nigerian agriculture. Q4 marks the peak main harvest season across the country, where crop production maximizes output, whereas Q1 marks the dry season and planting cycle, resulting in lower output momentum. In addition, the sector contribution to the GDP dropped, standing at 23.16% in Q1’2026, which was 550bps lower than 28.66% recorded in Q4’2025.
