Nigeria’s stock market sustained a renewed rally on Monday, August 31, 2026, with N1.91 trillion in gains, extending gains from previous sessions and closing the month of August with a minimal loss of about -0.4%.
The rally builds on last week’s momentum following FTSE Russell’s confirmation of Nigeria’s reclassification from “Unclassified” to “Frontier Market” status, a development that has continued to lift market sentiment since Nairametrics first broke the news on Thursday, August 27, 2026.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose 1.20% to close at 244,199.39 points, up from 241,298.47 points recorded on Friday.
Market capitalisation increased to N157.74 trillion from N155.83 trillion while the market’s year-to-date return strengthened to 56.93%.
The session’s gains were broad-based across banking, consumer goods and industrial names, with Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) among the standout performers, advancing 8.98%, extending a sharp recovery after last week’s steep declines.
The breadth of gains across banking heavyweights was reflected directly in the Banking Index’s sharp 3.11% advance, the session’s strongest sectoral move.
Sectoral performance was mostly positive across the board.
Market breadth strengthened notably, with 43 gainers comfortably outpacing 16 decliners, signalling a broader recovery in investor sentiment and reduced selling pressure across the market compared with the more selective rallies seen in the prior week.
Trading activity was broadly positive, with total volume traded rising marginally by 0.17% to 606.19 million shares.
Monday’s session extends the rally that began Thursday following the FTSE Russell reclassification news, with the market now up for three consecutive sessions.
With banking stocks now leading two consecutive sessions of gains, investor attention will likely stay focused on whether the sector can sustain its momentum as anticipated fresh inflows tied to Nigeria’s Frontier Market reclassification begin to materialise.
Looking ahead, the market is expected to sustain its positive momentum as investor sentiment continues to improve, buoyed by continued optimism following the FTSE Russell reclassification confirmation.
