Guinness, BUA Cement shine as NGX Index breaks above 198,000

The NGX All-Share Index wrapped the trading session of March 13, 2026, up 1,498.6 points to 198,407.3, with BUA Cement Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc among the day’s advancers.

The index’s rise represents a 0.76% gain from the previous session’s close of 196,908.7, even as overall market trading activity remained relatively soft.

Daily trading volume, though still subdued, rose to 591 million shares from 549 million shares recorded in the previous session, with transactions executed across 53,066 deals.

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Market capitalization also moved higher alongside the activity, increasing by about N1 trillion from N126.3 trillion to N127.3 trillion.

**What the data is saying **

Market sentiment remained on a bullish trajectory on March 13, 2026, pushing the Nigerian market’s year-to-date return to 27.50% as investors continued to position in selected equities.

• Guinness Nigeria Plc, University Press, and Royal Exchange Plc topped the gainers’ chart, each advancing by 10.00% as buying interest strengthened across the counters.
• On the losing side, profit-taking weighed on RT Briscoe Plc and Learn Africa Plc, which declined by 9.17% and 8.33% respectively, during the trading session.

In terms of trading volume, First HoldCo led activity with 70.8 million shares, followed by Access Holdings at 67.1 million shares and Guaranty Trust Holding Company with 33.6 million shares traded.

• Ellah Lakes also recorded notable participation with 27.08 million shares exchanged, while Sterling Financial Holdings followed with 25.1 million shares.

By market value, MTN Nigeria dominated turnover at N6.6 billion, followed by GTCO (N3.9 billion), Aradel (N3.55 billion), First HoldCo (N3.54 billion), and Dangote Cement (N2.9 billion).

Top 5 Gainers

• Guinness — up 10.00% to N385.00
• Royalex — up 10.00% to N1.87
• University Press — up 10.00% to N5.50
• May & Baker — up 9.93% to N41.50
• Fortis Global — up 9.26% to N1.18

**Top 5 Losers **

• RT Briscoe — down 9.17% to N10.40
• Learn Africa — down 8.33% to N8.25
• NGX Group — down 6.12% to N176.50
• Haldane McCall — down 5.78% to N3.91
• AXA Mansard — down 5.63% to N14.90

SWOOTs Performance

Among the SWOOTs—stocks with market capitalizations above N1 trillion—performance was broadly bullish during the session, reflecting renewed investor interest across several large-cap counters.

BUA Cement rose 9.18%, while Lafarge Africa gained 4.85%, Stanbic IBTC Holdings advanced 3.05%, Wema Bank added 1.56%, and MTN Nigeria edged higher by 0.15%.

FUGAZ Performance

Within the FUGAZ banking group, Zenith Bank led the gainers with a 3.01% rise, while GTCO recorded a marginal 0.04% increase during the session.

First HoldCo Plc and Access Holdings Plc closed flat, while United Bank for Africa Plc slipped 0.87% amid mild selling pressure.

**What you should know **

Trading activity on the Nigerian Exchange Limited remained relatively subdued, with total market volume hovering around 591 million shares despite the index’s upward movement.

The Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index reached 198,407.3—its highest level on record—after breaking through a resistance zone set on March 9, 2026 and crossing the 198,000-mark, suggesting renewed bullish momentum.

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