Nigerian stocks hit fresh record as Dangote Cement leads NGX rally
Nigeria’s stock market climbed to another record on Friday, extending a rally that has turned Africa’s largest bourse into one of this year’s standout frontier-market trades.
Black News 
![Banking stocks including UBA, FCMB Group and Access Holdings drove heavy trading on the NGX. [Punch]](https://ocdn.eu/pulscms/MDA_/1da6e8a4163ee2ff0924c753e9636019.jpg)
Nigeria’s stock market climbed to another record on Friday, extending a rally that has turned Africa’s largest bourse into one of this year’s standout frontier-market trades.
- Nigerian stocks climbed to another record on Friday, extending a rally that has pushed the market up 57% this year.
- Dangote Cement jumped 10% while banking stocks including UBA and Access Holdings recorded heavy trading activity.
- Investors are increasingly shifting into equities as they seek protection from inflation and naira volatility.
- The rally has helped lift the Nigerian market’s value to about $115 billion.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index rose 2.02% to 244,588.93 points, lifting its gain this year to 57.18% and pushing total market capitalisation to N156.7 trillion ($115 billion).
Cement giant Dangote Cement gained 10% to close at N1,088 per share, helping drive the market higher alongside banking stocks such as United Bank for Africa, FCMB Group and Access Holdings, which ranked among the day’s most actively traded shares.
The rally comes as investors increasingly rotate into equities in search of returns that can outpace inflation and cushion portfolios against naira volatility.
Interest in banking stocks has also been boosted by ongoing recapitalisation plans after the Central Bank of Nigeria ordered lenders to meet new capital requirements by 2027.
The NGX Industrial Index surged 6.97% on Friday and has now more than doubled this year, while the banking index rose 3.21%, taking its year-to-date gain above 53%.
Trading activity, however, slowed from the previous session. Investors exchanged 858.3 million shares worth N38.7 billion across 61,219 deals, down 42% in volume, 40% in turnover and 24% in transactions compared with Thursday’s trading session.
VFD Group posted the highest trading volume with 102 million shares exchanged, followed by FCMB Group with 99.3 million shares. United Bank for Africa traded 83.8 million shares, while Access Holdings recorded 71.8 million shares.
Aside from Dangote Cement, other top gainers included MeCure Industries, Neimeth International Pharma and UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust, all of which rose 10%.
On the losing side, UAC of Nigeria fell 10% to N171 per share, while Industrial & Medical Gases and Legend Internet also dropped 10%. Eterna declined 9.93%.
Nigeria’s equities market has attracted renewed investor attention in recent months as economic reforms, currency adjustments and elevated inflation reshape investment strategies in Africa’s largest economy.
Analysts say domestic investors, who dominate trading on the NGX, have increasingly favoured equities as corporate earnings remain relatively resilient despite high borrowing costs and persistent price pressures.
Still, some market watchers caution that the rapid pace of gains could trigger profit-taking after several large-cap stocks repeatedly hit daily price limits in recent weeks.
