By Oluyinka Onigbinde
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed trading on Friday, August 21, 2026, with a marginal gain in its benchmark index, even as market activity recorded a sharp decline in trading volume.
A total of 398.30 million shares valued at ₦31.36 billion exchanged hands in 36,265 deals at the close of trading. Compared with Thursday’s session, trading volume fell by 86 per cent, while turnover and the number of deals rose by 2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.
The NGX’s market capitalisation stood at ₦154.5 trillion, equivalent to about $115 billion.
Trading was mixed across the market, with 22 equities recording price gains and 27 stocks closing lower, out of the 133 equities that participated in the session.
RT Briscoe emerged as the day’s best-performing stock, gaining 9.63 per cent to close at ₦11.95 per share. It was followed by Fortis Global Insurance, which rose 8.11 per cent; Trans-Nationwide Express, up 7.84 per cent; and Meyer Plc, which advanced 5.98 per cent.
At the other end of the market, International Energy Insurance recorded the steepest decline, falling 10 per cent to close at ₦3.87 per share. Omatek Ventures declined 9.55 per cent, while McNichols Plc and UPDC Plc shed 6.73 per cent and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Activity was concentrated in a handful of stocks. Sterling Bank led the volume chart with 47.8 million shares, followed by Nigerian Exchange Group with 36.7 million shares, First HoldCo Plc with 32.4 million shares and Access Holdings Plc with 22.9 million shares.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 158.84 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close at 240,196.64. Despite Friday’s marginal advance, the index recorded a 1 per cent loss over the week and a 2.89 per cent decline over four weeks. It remained firmly positive year-to-date, however, with a 54.36 per cent gain.
Several sectoral indices also ended higher. The NGX Oil & Gas Index was the strongest performer on the day, rising 2.54 per cent, although it remained down 4.64 per cent over the past week. The NGX Main Board Index gained 0.27 per cent, while the NGX Pension Index advanced 0.10 per cent.
The NGX Top 30 Index edged up 0.07 per cent, while the Industrial Index was flat. The Consumer Goods Index slipped 0.03 per cent.
Despite the mixed weekly performance, the broader market remains strongly ahead of its position at the start of the year. The Oil & Gas Index has posted an 85.76 per cent year-to-date gain, while the Industrial, Pension and Top 30 indices have risen 82.84 per cent, 72.82 per cent and 55.23 per cent, respectively.
Friday’s session therefore ended the trading week on a cautiously positive note, with the headline index eking out a small gain amid significantly lower trading volume and continued divergence across sectors and individual stocks.
