Banking Index Climbs as Investors Eye Earnings, Dividends
The Banking index drove momentum on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Thursday as investors increased bets on Nigerian lenders amidst the fourth quarter of 2025 earnings releases.
Nigeria’s top banks courted investors’ attention, resulting in positive price movement in both tier-1 names, supported interest in some fundamentally strong tier 2 lenders.
The market recorded cross deals in banking stocks, reflecting interest in one of the most liquid sectors in the local bourse, with healthy dividend payment track records.
Stockbrokers reported that the Nigerian Exchange closed the session on a positive note as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 22bps. Also, the market year-to-date return surged to 6.37% amidst gains in four major indices, save for the Industrial Goods that closed flat.
The Banking Index led the pack, up by 68 basis points as a result of gains in FCMB (+5.0%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+3.3%), ACCESSCORP (+0.9%), and ZENITHBANK (+0.5%), eclipsing GTCO’s -0.2% price decline.
The Insurance Index rose by 64bps driven by gains in VERITSKAP (+9.9%), NEM (+6.5%), WAPIC (+2.2%), and AIICO (+1.2%).
The Consumer Index gained 46bps following investors’ interest in INTBREW (+3.6%), UNILEVER (+1.3%), FTNCOCOA (+0.1%), offsetting losses in CADBURY and ELLAHLAKES.
The Industrial Index closed flat as losses in AUSTINLAZ (-7.5%) offset gains in JOHNHOLT (+5.7%).
Market activity remained subdued as the total value traded on NGX fell by 7.1% to ₦15.4 billion, with banking stocks once again driving turnover.
The market recorded over 20 million shares traded in GTCO, including some crossed deals, and about 24k shares of SEPLAT crossed at ₦7,000, 110K shares of NESTLE crossed at ₦2,000, and 4 million shares of CUSTODIAN crossed at ₦44.0. Naira Touches N1,400 per Dollar in Nigerian Currency Market
