Best-performing Nigerian stocks in July as two stocks crossed 100% gains

The Nigerian equities market staged a strong recovery in July 2026, with the benchmark NGX All-Share Index gaining 6.92% month-on-month to close at 245,283.68 points, up from 229,419.18 points at the end of June.

The rebound followed the sharp sell-off recorded in June, when the index declined 8.37% from its May 2026 peak of 250,385.70 points.

Despite July’s recovery, the benchmark index remained approximately 2.04% below its May high.

Market capitalisation increased by approximately N11.11 trillion during July, rising from N147.22 trillion at the end of June to N158.326 trillion on July 31.

However, part of the increase reflected new and supplementary listings, including AVA Capital and additional shares issued by Fortis Global Insurance.

Consequently, the benchmark index’s year-to-date return improved to 57.62%, while the increase in market capitalisation since the start of the year stood at approximately 59.32%.

Against this backdrop, Fortis Global Insurance and FirstHoldCo led July’s share price gains.

However, the increase in overall market value was concentrated in larger companies, as Airtel Africa, FirstHoldCo, MTN Nigeria and Dangote Cement each added more than N1 trillion in market capitalization.

Together, the four companies added about N10.78 trillion, accounting for about 97% of the market’s N11.11 trillion increase in July.

What the data is saying

July’s performance represented a recovery from the broad market correction recorded in June rather than a new market peak.

The NGX All-Share Index climbed to 250,385.70 points at the end of May before declining to 229,419.18 points in June as investors booked profits following the market’s strong rally earlier in the year.

The 6.92% rebound in July recovered a significant portion of the June decline, but the index still closed approximately 5,102 points below its May peak.

The recovery was also uneven across sectors. Banking stocks led the rebound, while Consumer Goods remained under pressure.

Market summary for July 2026

All-Share Index: 245,283.68 points, up 6.92% month-on-month
Market capitalization: N158.326 trillion, up approximately 7.54% month-on-month
Increase in market capitalization: Approximately N11.11 trillion
Year-to-date ASI return: 57.62%
May 2026 peak: 250,385.70 points
June 2026 decline: 8.37%
Distance from May peak: 2.04% below.

Top 10 best-performing stocks

Fortis Global Insurance — up 136.36% to N2.34
First HoldCo — up 131.13% to N129.55
Thomas Wyatt Nigeria — up 59.27% to N4.38
DAAR Communications — up 44.00% to N1.80
UPDC REIT — up 42.05% to N13.85
Consolidated Hallmark Holdings — up 39.33% to N8.36
Coronation Infrastructure Fund — up 33.02% to N154.30
Honeywell Flour Mills — up 27.62% to N18.25
RT Briscoe — up 26.63% to N12.60
Wapic Insurance — up 23.19% to N2.55

Top 10 worst-performing stocks

Mecure Industries — down 40.78%
M. C. Nichols — down 32.35%
International Energy Insurance — down 28.32%
CAP Plc — down 26.76%
Haldane McCall — down 25.77%
ABC Transport — down 26.28%
Meyer — down 18.93%
Red Star Express — down 18.53%
Champion Breweries — down 17.04%
Nascon Allied Industries — down 13.44%

Sector performance

The market recovery was led by the banking sector, which reversed its June decline and outperformed the broader market.

The NGX Banking Index surged 22.10% in July to 2,527.59 points after declining 12.21% in June. The index moved above its May level of 2,358.17 points and ended July with a year-to-date return of 66.74%.
The NGX Insurance Index gained 9.28% during the month to 1,200.08 points, supported by gains in stocks including Fortis Global Insurance, Consolidated Hallmark and Wapic Insurance.
The NGX 30 Index advanced 7.82%, slightly outperforming the broader market.
The Industrial Goods Index rose 3.57%, while the Oil and Gas Index gained 3.21%.
Despite the modest July increase, Oil and Gas remained the strongest-performing major sector in 2026, with a year-to-date return of 96.32%.

Consumer Goods was the only major sector to decline in July, falling 4.11% to 4,405.53 points. Its weakness showed that the broader market recovery was not evenly distributed.

Volume and value

Trading activity remained strong in July 2026, with investors exchanging 17.82 billion shares valued at about N1.184 trillion across 1.166 million deals during the month’s 23 trading sessions.

This translated to an average daily turnover of about 774.63 million shares worth N51.47 billion in 50,694 deals.

Market breadth was moderately positive during the month, with cumulative daily advances of 728, compared with 619 declines, while unchanged stocks totalled 1,721.

Corporate actions in July 2026

Fortis Global Insurance completed a four-for-one share reconstruction on July 2, reducing its issued shares from about 12.91 billion to 3.23 billion and adjusting the reference price to N3.96.

Thomas Wyatt Nigeria resumed trading on July 6 after NGX lifted the suspension following the filing of its outstanding financial statements.
Sterling Financial Holdings listed 13.81 billion additional shares on July 16 from its offer for subscription at N7.00 per share, increasing issued shares to 65.93 billion.

Trading in Aluminium Extrusion was suspended on July 22 for failing to submit its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025.

Linkage Assurance listed 12.32 billion additional shares on July 23 from a rights issue at N1.32 per share, raising its issued shares to 30.80 billion.
Fortis Global Insurance listed another 15 billion shares on July 30 following the conversion of N12 billion debt to equity at N0.80 per share, increasing issued shares to 18.23 billion.
AVA Capital listed five billion shares by introduction on July 31 at N7.50 per share, adding approximately N37.5 billion to market capitalisation.

Abbey Mortgage Bank changed its name to Abbey Bank, with its ticker changing from ABBEYBDS to ABBEYBANK.

Deap Capital Management & Trust was renamed Critical Minerals Financing Corp, with its ticker changing from DEAPCAP to CMFC.
Fortis’ reported 136.36% July gain should be adjusted for the share reconstruction. Using the reconstructed price of N3.96, the stock declined by about 40.91% to N2.34, making FirstHoldCo the strongest comparable performer for July.