Sterling Financial Holdings Leads Trading as Nigerian Stock Market Rebounds, Gains 111 Points

The Nigerian stock market rebounded on Thursday, May 21, 2026, recovering from the previous session’s heavy losses as investors returned to the equities market. The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) gained 111.7 points to close at 249,175.4 points, reversing part of the 2,571-point drop recorded a day earlier that pushed the benchmark index below the crucial 250,000-point mark.

Investor participation strengthened significantly during the trading session, with total volume traded rising to 1.05 billion shares across 62,448 deals, compared to approximately 600 million shares exchanged in the previous session. Market capitalization settled at N159.7 trillion, reflecting renewed buying interest across key sectors. The market’s year-to-date return also improved slightly to 60.13%, up from 60.05% recorded in the prior trading day.

Sterling Financial Holdings emerged as the most actively traded stock by volume, recording an impressive 322.6 million shares exchanged. It was followed by Japaul Gold with 96.3 million shares, Fidelity Bank with 57.03 million shares, Access Holdings with 52.2 million shares, and Lasaco Assurance with 42.5 million shares. In terms of value traded, Aradel Holdings led the market with transactions worth N5.06 billion, ahead of Zenith Bank at N3.06 billion and Sterling Financial Holdings at N2.5 billion.

Market sentiment remained largely positive as International Energy Insurance and ABC Transport topped the gainers’ chart, appreciating by 10.00% and 9.93% respectively. Other notable gainers included Unilever Nigeria, Academy Press, and Eunisell Interlinked. However, profit-taking activities weighed on some stocks, with Berger Paints Nigeria and Learn Africa posting losses of 10.00% and 9.96% respectively. Daar Communications, RT Briscoe, and May & Baker Nigeria also featured among the day’s biggest losers.

Despite mixed sectoral performance, the broader market outlook remained resilient. The NGX Consumer Goods Index rose by 0.52%, while the Banking Index recorded a marginal gain of 0.03%. Conversely, the Insurance, Oil and Gas, and Industrial Goods indices closed lower. Among major banking stocks, GTCO, Zenith Bank, and Access Holdings ended flat, while UBA and First HoldCo posted slight declines. The All-Share Index currently boasts a quarter-to-date return of 23.79% and a month-to-date gain of 2.85%, underscoring the market’s strong performance so far in 2026.

SOURCE: Nairametrics