Oil & Gas, Cement, and Banking Heavyweights Power Strongest Monthly Rally in Two Years….
Nigeria’s equities market delivered a standout performance in February 2026, with the benchmark index surging 16.60% to close at 192,826.8 points its, strongest monthly gain since January 2024.
Tracked by the All-Share Index on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the rally marks a third consecutive month of gains following November 2025’s pullback. The index even crossed the 194,000 mark during the penultimate trading week before easing slightly by 1.11% to settle at month-end levels.
Year-to-date, the market is now up 23.91%, with more than 36 billion shares exchanged underscoring sustained investor appetite, particularly for industrial, oil and gas, and banking bellwethers.
Oil & Gas Leads the Charge
The NGX Oil & Gas Index emerged as February’s best-performing sector, soaring 33.63% to close at 4,060.7 points from 3,038.8 at the start of the month, a gain of over 1,000 points. Trading volume in the sector exceeded 1.6 billion shares.
Large-cap energy players drove the surge.
- Aradel Holdings advanced 38.94%
- Seplat Energy climbed 35.82%
In the mid-cap space,
- Japaul Gold & Ventures skyrocketed 58.20%
- Eterna Plc gained 6.65%
- Oando Plc rose 3.21%
Industrial Goods Break New Ground
The NGX Industrial Goods Index followed closely, climbing 22.20% to break through the 7,000-point barrier for the first time, closing at 7,314.6 points with over 559 million shares traded.
Cement giants anchored the advance:
- Lafarge Africa jumped 27.39%
- Dangote Cement gained 22.68%
- BUA Cement rose 19.67%
Other notable contributors included:
- Chemical and Allied Products (+25.85%)
- Berger Paints Nigeria (+23.33%)
- Beta Glass (+18.69%)
- Austin Laz & Company (+18.21%)
- Cutix Plc (+4.38%)
Banking Stocks Extend Momentum
The NGX Banking Index ranked third, advancing 16.67% to close at 1,892.1 points, with over 7.6 billion shares traded one of the highest activity levels across sectors.
Tier-one lenders posted strong gains:
- Zenith Bank (+27.36%)
- First HoldCo (+19.89%)
- Guaranty Trust Holding Company (+18.18%)
- Access Holdings (+17.26%)
- United Bank for Africa (+10.16%)
Tier-two players also impressed:
- Jaiz Bank (+57.88%)
- FCMB Group (+25.23%)
- Sterling Financial Holdings (+16.44%)
- Wema Bank (+15.38%)
- Stanbic IBTC Holdings (+12.96%)
- Fidelity Bank Nigeria (+7.26%)
Consumer Goods Gains, Insurance Lags
The NGX Consumer Goods Index rose 6.51%, supported largely by mid-cap counters. Among the notable performers:
- Nascon Allied Industries (+44.69%)
- Nestle Nigeria (+43.93%)
- McNichols Plc (+33.39%)
- PZ Cussons Nigeria (+28.57%)
- Dangote Sugar Refinery (+27.62%)
- Vitafoam Nigeria (+26.93%)
- Unilever Nigeria (+21.67%)
Nigerian Breweries was the only major heavyweight in the sector to post a modest 1.46% gain.
Meanwhile, the NGX Insurance Index trailed other sectors, inching up just 2.31% to 1,359.9 points. Key movers included:
- Universal Insurance Plc (+23.33%)
- AXA Mansard Insurance (+15.80%)
- Lasaco Assurance (+15.67%)
- Mutual Benefits Assurance (+13.64%)
What Investors Should Watch
With the All-Share Index now within striking distance of the 200,000 milestone, sustained rallies in large-cap counters could propel the market into record territory.
However, technical indicators suggest the market is currently overbought across major timeframes, raising the possibility of a short-term pullback. For strategic investors, any retracement could present fresh entry opportunities.
For now, momentum remains firmly on the bulls’ side and the NGX appears poised for what could be a defining quarter in Nigeria’s equity market history.
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