The Nigerian Exchange mounted its largest single-session recovery since the market correction began, gaining N1.52 trillion in market capitalisation on Monday as heavyweight banking stocks reversed weeks of selling pressure.
The benchmark All-Share Index climbed 0.97% to close at 238,219.19 points, rebounding from 235,941.27 at Friday's close. Market capitalisation settled at N152.79 trillion. The session broke a six-day losing streak that had pulled the index down more than 16,500 points from its all-time high of 252,508 points recorded in May 2026.
First HoldCo and GTCO both appreciated by the maximum 10% daily limit, leading a recovery in the FUGAZ banking cohort. First HoldCo closed at N60.50, partially recouping its 20.29% weekly decline from the prior week, while GTCO ended at N127.10 after shedding 15.01% the previous week. Zenith Bank gained 7.09% to N117.80, UBA added 1.39%, and MTN Nigeria advanced 3.75%.
Trading activity saw broad-based improvement across all metrics. Volume rose 11.07% to 489.1 million shares, value traded jumped 48.86% to N36.74 billion, and the number of deals increased 26.97% to 63,834 transactions. MTN Nigeria dominated the value chart, accounting for N16.64 billion or 45.32% of total session turnover. Fidelity Bank led by volume with 48.75 million shares traded.
Despite the headline gains, market breadth remained negative with 35 losers against 17 gainers, indicating that the rally was concentrated in heavyweight stocks rather than reflecting broad-based investor sentiment. Zichis Agro-Allied fell 10% to N23.40, while Eterna slipped 9.90% to N27.75, breaching its 52-week low of N27.90.
The year-to-date return recovered to 53.08% from 51.62% at the prior week's close. While Monday's N1.52 trillion gain is the largest single-session recovery since the correction began, it recovers only a fraction of the estimated N16 trillion in market value lost since the May peak.
Market participants are now watching whether the banking sector's momentum can sustain through the remainder of the week or if profit-taking resumes as investors use the rally to exit positions accumulated during the year's earlier bull run.
