The Nigerian equities market staged a strong recovery on Friday, 23 October 2026, as Dangote Cement and First HoldCo both surged by the maximum daily limit of 10 percent.
The move ended a two day losing streak and added approximately ₦1.47 trillion to market capitalisation. The All Share Index rose 0.92 percent, gaining 2,265.33 points to close at 247,222.27 points from 244,956.94 points the previous day. Market capitalisation climbed to about ₦160.52 trillion from ₦159.048 trillion. The year to date return strengthened to 58.87 percent.
Dangote Cement advanced from ₦1,010 to ₦1,111, a gain of ₦101 or 10 percent. The industrial heavyweight’s rise provided substantial support to the broader index given its large weighting. First HoldCo matched the performance, rising from ₦131 to ₦144.10, adding ₦13.10 or 10 percent.
The rally in First HoldCo followed the release of its strong nine month results for the period ended 30 September 2026, which showed profit before tax rising 60.84 percent year-on-year to ₦911.24 billion and profit after tax increasing significantly.
Other notable gainers included Guinea Insurance, which climbed 9.41 percent to ₦0.93; Fidelity Bank, which advanced 9.09 percent to ₦24.00; and FTN Cocoa Processors, up 5.60 percent. The Industrial Goods Index rose 3.68 percent on the day, while the Banking Index gained 2.57 percent, reflecting selective buying in major financial names.
Market breadth remained slightly negative despite the strong headline performance, with 23 equities advancing against 25 decliners. Gains were concentrated among large-cap stocks rather than broadly distributed across the market. Livestock Feeds led the losers, falling 9.79 percent. Trading activity intensified. Investors exchanged approximately 611.68 million shares valued at ₦23.14 billion in about 33,585 deals, representing a roughly 69.6 percent increase in volume from the previous session.
The Friday rebound came after mid week pressure that had pushed the index lower on Wednesday and Thursday. The strong close left the market at its highest level of the five-day trading period and significantly cushioned what would otherwise have been a steeper weekly decline. Analysts noted that the recovery was driven primarily by heavyweight buying in Dangote Cement and selected banking stocks rather than a broad-based shift in sentiment, setting the tone for the new trading week beginning 26 October 2026.