As Investors Sustained Buying Interest in Blue-Chip Stocks; BDC Rate Closed Flat at N1,400/US$1
Snapshot
The Nigerian bourse extended its bullish performance into the third week of March, with the NGXASI crossing the 200,000 point threshold on Monday, March 16, 2026, following a sustained moderation in inflation, as investors continue to cherry-pick stocks like BUACEMENT (+10.00%), PREMPAINTS (+9.79%), ZENITHBANK (+7.35%), UBA (+5.49%), NGXGROUP (+3.29%), IKEJAHOTEL (+2.64%), CUSTODIAN (+2.60%), MTNN (+2.43%), WAPCO (+1.92%), ACCESSCORP (+1.61%), CWG (+1.31%), DANGCEM (+1.01%), HONYFLOUR (+0.95%), TRANSCORP (+0.63%), GTCO (+0.55%), DANGSUGAR (+0.27%), and 22 others. As such, the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) advanced 1.55% to settle at 201,474.89 points, up from 198,407.30 points on Friday.
Total market capitalisation increased to N129.33trn, while the ASI year-to-date (YTD) return improved to 29.47%, reflecting sustained investor confidence in the local equities.
Market breadth closed bullish, with 38 gainers against 30 decliners. BUACEMENT topped the gainers’ chart, while VFDGROUP led the decliners. Meanwhile, BUACEMENT, PREMPAINTS and ZENITHBANK traded above their 52-week high at N297.00, N2.13 and N103.00, respectively.
The Proshare Memorandum Index also extended a bullish trend, with the price-weighted return up 2.30% to 1,215.66 points from 1,188.38 points in the previous session, on broad-based price appreciation across constituent stocks, while the float-adjusted return increased by 2.53% to settle at 878.78 points, up from 857.12 points, suggesting a strong performance among higher-float equities.
Volume and Value Contribution
Market activity was up for the day, with total volume traded up 60.43% to 948.21m, valued at N49.17bn across 72,735. SOVRENINS recorded the highest volume with 72.56m units traded, accounting for 7.65% of the volume traded for the day, while ZENITHBANK recorded the highest value with N5.96bn units traded, accounting for 12.11% of the day’s total value. ACCESSCORP and FIRSTHOLDCO accounted for 7.37% and 7.07% of total volume, respectively, while ARADEL and MTNN followed ZENITHBANK in traded value.
NGX Earnings Summary
Corporate Results
No Financial statement was released on the NGX website today.
NGX Corporate News
- Airtel Africa Plc Transaction In Own Shares – NGX
For more analysis of the NGX-listed equities, click here.
1.2 NASD OTC Exchange – Unlisted Equities
Conversely, the unlisted NASD Securities Index (NSI) extended previous sessions’ losses to close Monday bearish, down 0.36% to 4,145.60 points from 4,160.46 points on Friday.
The total volume traded declined to 265,610 valued at N33.23m across 26 deals.
At the close of trading, the NASD OTC recorded zero (0) gainers and two (2) losers.
1.3 Global Indices
The global indices closed higher on Monday, with Brazil’s Bovespa leading the gainers chart. For more updates on the Global scene, click here.
1.4 African Indices
The prices in the African market are relatively favourable today. For the latest data and updates, please kindly click here.
2. Bonds and Fixed-Income Markets
2.1 Debt Market Size
The Debt Market Size was unavailable at the time of publishing this report.
2.2 Overnight and Open Repo (OPR)
The Overnight and Open Repo rates were unavailable while preparing the report.
3.1 AFEX Indices
On Monday, the AFEX, ACI and AEI closed flat at N40.68 and N32.22, respectively. Data on AFEX Indices can be accessed here.
3.2 AFEX Commodity Prices
For commodities at the AFEX Market on Monday, sorghum, soybeans, and paddyrice rose 3.86%, 2.21% and 2.08%, respectively, to close at N299.56, N696.00, and N410.00, while maize fell by 12.18% to close at N202.75. Click here to access more data on AFEX commodity prices.
3.3 LCFE Commodity Price(s)
Eko Gold, Premium Eko Rice, and Eko Rice Classic prices at the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE) remained unchanged on Monday, closing at N140,000.00 per gram, N50,000.00 per 50kg, and N55,000 per 50kg, respectively.
3.4 Global Commodity Prices
In the global commodity market, Gold and Silver rose 0.13% and 1.01%, respectively, to close at US$5,025.67 and US$81.39. Brent advanced 1.06% to close at US$99.96, while WTI crude declined 5.59% to close at US$93.19 as at 02:30 PM GMT on Monday, amid attacks on Gulf oil production and U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for global efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
The average BDC rate closed flat at N1,400/USD on Monday, while the NFEM rate closed at N1,366.23/USD on Friday. For updates on the Nigerian FX Market, kindly click here.
