NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1.20% as banking system liquidity strengthened

Nigerian equities market closed on a bullish note for the third consecutive session, extending the recovery that brought an end to its eleven-session losing streak.

The All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1.20%, lifting its year-to-date (YTD) return to 56.93%.

Market activity also strengthened compared with the previous session, as total trading volume increased by 49.54% to 605.74 million shares, while total transaction value rose by 36.29% to ₦38.77 billion.

Despite the gain in the benchmark index, market breadth remained negative, with 14 losers outnumbering 37 gainers, while 75 stocks closed unchanged. This suggests that the increase in the ASI was driven largely by gains in a few large-cap stocks, particularly within the banking sector, rather than broad-based buying across the market.

Sectoral performance was mixed, although most sectoral indices closed in positive territory. The Banking Index recorded the strongest gain, rising by 3.11%, while the Industrial Index was the only major sectoral index to decline, falling by 0.20%.

ACCESSCORP led trading by volume, with 126.54 million shares exchanged, while MTNN dominated trading by value, with transactions worth ₦5.72 billion.

On the gainers’ chart, OMATEK and IKEJAHOTEL recorded the strongest price appreciations, while ABBEYBANK and ZICHIS posted the steepest declines.

Banking system liquidity strengthened today, settling at ₦4.65 trillion net positive from ₦3.61 trillion in the previous session. This improvement drove an 8bps decline in Overnight rate to 22.13% from 22.21%.

Meanwhile, NOFR and Open Repo rate remained unchanged at 22.00%.
In the FGN bond market, performance remained subdued as profit taking drove sell pressure at the mid segment of the curve with an 8bps increase in yield.  However, the short and long ends were largely muted.

Overall, average yield increased marginally, closing at 16.83% from 16.80%.

Furthermore, in Nigerian Treasury Bills market, positive sentiment was seen across the curve. As observed in the previous session, bills at the long end witnessed the steepest decline in yield, dropping by 18bps., while the shorter dated bills saw mild buying interest. Hence, average yield decreased by 7bps, to close at 18.81% from 18.88%.

Elsewhere, gains from the previous sessions retracted as negative sentiment governed trading activities in Nigeria Eurobond market. Average yield increased slightly to close at 6.91% from 6.90%. Following the jump in US Treasury hitting highest since Jan 2025.

Today, the naira appreciated against the U.S. dollar, with the USD/NGN pair declining by 0.29% to close at ₦1,332.93/$.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves increased by 0.37% to $53.50 billion as of 28 August 2026, reflecting the continued strengthening of the country’s reserve position, supported by sustained foreign-exchange inflows.

In the commodities market, Brent crude declined by 0.95% to $89.64 per barrel at the time of writing, amid concerns over the outlook for global oil demand. However, oil prices later reversed higher as renewed U.S.–Iran military tensions heightened concerns over potential disruptions to crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.