Stock Market Closes Month of May Higher, as Investors Gain N414bn on Last Trading Day
- The Nigerian stock market rebounded, snapping its earlier losing trend before the Eid-el-Kabir holiday
- The gain was driven by strong demand in Aradel Holdings, NEM Insurance, Ikeja Hotel, First Holdco, and Transcorp Power
- Sovereign Trust Insurance, Zenith Children’s Health, and McNichols led the gainers’ chart
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
The Nigerian equities market rebounded on Friday, May 29, 2026, as investors returned from the Eid-el-Kabir holiday with renewed buying interest in selected large- and mid-cap stocks, helping the market recover part of the losses recorded earlier in the week.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 0.26% to close at 250,385.47 points, up from 249,738.84 points in the previous session.
Source: Getty Images
Consequently, investors gained N414.52 billion in market value, while the market’s year-to-date return improved to 60.90%, reflecting sustained bullish sentiment despite intermittent profit-taking pressure.
Market breadth remained negative, with 33 decliners against 30 gainers, indicating that selling pressure persisted.
Volume and value contribution
Market activity surged for the day, with total traded volume rising by 113.57% to 1.20 billion shares, valued at N43.43 billion across 93,626 deals.
Top gainers
- Sovereign Trust Insurance rose from N2.50 to N2.75 (+10.00%).
- Zenith Children’s Health climbed from N30.00 to N33.00 (+10.00%).
- International Energy Insurance advanced from N4.11 to N4.52 (+9.98%).
- McNichols gained from N7.92 to N8.70 (+9.85%).
- Aradel Holdings jumped from N1,764.50 to N1,933.80 (+9.59%).
Top losers
- Chemical and Allied Products fell from N199.00 to N179.10 (–10.00%).
- Austin Laz dropped from N4.40 to N3.96 (–10.00%).
- Premier Paints declined from N37.50 to N33.75 (–10.00%).
- LivingTrust Mortgage Bank slipped from N4.45 to N4.01 (–9.89%).
- John Holt decreased from N18.80 to N16.95 (–9.84%).
Source: Facebook
Most active stocks
- Fidelity Bank traded 482,952,202 shares worth N8.73 billion.
- Access Holdings exchanged 133,281,490 shares valued at N3.23 billion.
- Transnational Corporation recorded 81,716,048 shares worth N2.19 billion.
- Chams Holding Company traded 43,878,090 shares valued at N173.80 million.
- Dangote Sugar Refinery posted 28,349,356 shares worth N2.04 billion.
5 steps to buy refinery shares as Dangote confirms IPO date
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Investors are positioning ahead of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Dangote Group’s refinery, with President and Chief Executive, Aliko Dangote, confirming that the listing is expected to launch in September 2026.
Dangote disclosed this during an interaction with journalists after leading chairman Femi Otedola and senior executives of First HoldCo and its subsidiaries on a tour of the refinery complex in Lagos.
According to him, even before the offer is open, investor interest in the refinery IPO has skyrocketed, approaching $2 billion.
Source: Legit.ng
