NGX Trading Summary - February 24, 2026

The bullish momentum continued today, with the market extending its record-breaking run as investors reacted positively to the CBN's policy decision.

📊 Market Performance

Metric	Previous Close	Today's Close	Change	% Change
NGX ASI	196,263.56	196,984.67	+721.11	+0.37%
Market Cap	₦125.968 trillion	₦126.772 trillion	+₦804 billion	+0.64%
Year-to-Date Return	26.12%	26.55%	-	+0.43%

Investors gained approximately ₦804 billion in today's session, building on yesterday's ₦791 billion gain . The market has now returned 26.55% in just the first two months of 2026.

📈 Trading Activity

Today saw another significant increase in market participation:

Activity Metric	Value	Change from Previous
Volume Traded	1.3 billion shares	+57%
Value Traded	₦31.5 billion	+11%
Number of Deals	95,091 transactions	+50%

Trading activity surged across all metrics, with volume jumping an impressive 57% and the number of deals increasing by 50% .

📉 Market Breadth: Perfect Balance

Today's market breadth was perfectly balanced:

Breadth Metric	Count
Advancing Stocks	35
Declining Stocks	35
Unchanged Stocks	Not specified

This balanced breadth, combined with a positive index move, suggests broad-based participation rather than gains driven solely by heavyweights.

🏆 Top Gainers Today

Company	Ticker	Gain	Closing Price
Okomu Oil	OKOMUOIL	+10.00%	₦1,605.60
Fortis Global Insurance	FTGINSURE	+10.00%	66 kobo
FG20203356	-	+9.99%	Not specified
Fidson	FIDSON	+9.90%	Not specified
NPF Microfinance Bank	NPFMCRFBK	+9.89%	Not specified

Okomu Oil and Fortis Global Insurance led the gainers with maximum 10% appreciation .

📉 Top Losers Today

Company	Ticker	Loss	Closing Price
The Initiates	-	-10.00%	₦17.55
Deap Capital Management	DEAPCAP	-9.97%	Not specified
Multiverse Mining	MULTIVERSE	-9.92%	Not specified
Livingtrust Mortgage Bank	LIVINGTRUST	-9.92%	Not specified
Ellah Lakes	ELLAHLAKES	-9.77%	Not specified

The Initiates topped the losers' table with a 10% decline, while Ellah Lakes, which we discussed previously, continued its downward trajectory with a 9.77% loss.

🔍 Most Active Stocks

By Volume:

• Japaul Gold led with 473.98 million shares, accounting for 36.78% of total volume

By Value:

• Aradel led with ₦4.14 billion worth of shares traded, representing 13.14% of total value

⚠️ NGX Investor Alert

In a significant development, the Nigerian Exchange issued an investor alert today regarding sharp and unusual price movements in some listed companies.

NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) stated that it had observed "significant volatility that may not align with the underlying fundamentals of the affected companies".

Key message from the Exchange:

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"Investors are encouraged to base their decisions on careful analysis of companies' fundamentals, risk profile, and financial performance. Sound fundamentals, not speculation, remain the foundation for sustainable investment outcomes".

Olufemi Shobanjo, CEO of NGX Regulation Limited, added: "Our primary responsibility is to maintain a level playing field where market participants can trade with confidence, backed by timely and accurate information".

This advisory follows yesterday's suspension of Zichis and signals that regulators are watching speculative activity closely.

Meanwhile, the MPC's decision to hold CRR and Liquidity Ratio steady suggests policymakers are taking a "measured approach". They're loosening borrowing costs slightly while maintaining tight liquidity controls within the banking system.

Yields on Treasury bills and bonds may trend lower as the policy rate declines. Investors relying on interest income could see reduced returns.

The relative attractiveness of stocks improves. Nigeria's market is already performing strongly, with 34.39% year-to-date return in U.S. dollar terms, outpacing several African peers.

The naira's stability and appreciating trend could continue, supported by high real yields (the policy rate remains well above inflation) and strong foreign reserves.

Today's rate cut didn't happen in a vacuum. It reflects a fundamentally transformed macroeconomic landscape:

Indicator	Current	Change
Inflation	15.10% (January 2026)	Down from 34.8% peak
External Reserves	$50.45 billion	13-year high
Naira/USD	₦1,345	+6.7% year-to-date
Foreign Inflows (January)	$1.79 billion	+111.5% month-on-month
GDP Growth (2025 estimate)	3.81%	Up from 3.34% in 2024

The MPC's decision also reflects a shifting global backdrop :

• Major central banks (US Fed, Bank of England, ECB) are no longer tightening aggressively
• The US dollar has softened, reducing pressure on emerging market currencies
• Global liquidity conditions have stabilised

The stage is set for continued market appreciation. Lower rates, a stable currency, strong reserves, and improving fundamentals create a favourable environment for stocks . However, heed the NGX warning: focus on fundamentals, not speculation . The Zichis suspension and today's investor alert are reminders that what goes up fast can come down faster.

Prepare for gradually declining yields. The easing cycle has begun, and returns on government securities will likely trend lower. Consider locking in current yields on longer-dated instruments if you need income certainty.

The Nigerian economy is emerging from one of its most challenging periods in decades. Inflation is down, the naira is stable, reserves are at 13-year highs, and growth is slowly improving . Today's rate cut is a vote of confidence in this recovery.

As CBN Governor Cardoso put it: "The ongoing disinflation trajectory would continue, largely supported by the lag transmission of previous monetary tightening, sustained exchange rate stability and enhanced food supply".

The worst appears to be behind us. But as always in investing, optimism must be tempered with discipline. Focus on companies with strong fundamentals, manageable debt, and clear growth paths. The macroeconomic tailwinds are favourable, but they lift all boats, the key is finding the ones with the strongest hulls.

Aproko, thanks for laying out the numbers; they certainly tell a story of significant market gains. That +0.37% on the ASI and the N804 billion jump in market cap are indeed impressive, and a 26.55% YTD return by February is something to talk about, no doubt. The market is clearly on a roll.

However, when we attribute this entirely to investors reacting "positively" to the CBN's policy decision, it begs a deeper look at the nature of that positivity. Are we witnessing genuine, deep-seated confidence in the long-term economic trajectory, or are there other forces at play? From where I sit, with inflation still a significant concern and the Naira's true value always a talking point, it's not far-fetched to consider that some of this 'bullish momentum' could be a flight to real assets.

Think about it: in an environment where other investment avenues might be less attractive due to high interest rates or lingering FX uncertainties, equities, especially those of resilient companies, become a plausible hedge against inflation. Is it entirely positive reaction, or is it a strategic move to preserve capital? The sheer volume traded also indicates a lot of activity, but high activity doesn't always equate to purely fundamental-driven buying. Sometimes, it’s a scramble, a repositioning. Just food for thought on what’s truly driving these record-breaking runs, abi? The "what" is clear, but the "why" is often far more complex.

Aproko, your figures no lie at all! The way NGX dey run, like say no tomorrow, e go show say our economy dey ginger. CBN's moves don really clear road, and with these huge gains, we just dey secure the bag early for 2026, building a proper foundation for Nigeria's future.