By 
Airtel Africa Leads Strong Market Recovery
Telecommunications giant Airtel Africa spearheaded a strong rebound on the Nigerian stock market on Tuesday, rallying by 10% to lead gains on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and lifting investor confidence after heavy selloffs earlier in the week.
RELATED: Airtel Nigeria activates second international internet gateway via 2Africa cable to boost network resilience
Trading data showed that the rally helped equity investors recover approximately ₦1.09 trillion of the ₦1.38 trillion lost at the start of the week, marking a decisive turnaround in market sentiment.
NGX All-Share Index Rises 0.85%
The market-wide recovery pushed the NGX All-Share Index up by 0.85% to close at 200,705.88 points, while total market capitalisation rose by ₦1.09 trillion to ₦128.84 trillion. The rebound also lifted the market’s year-to-date return to +28.98%, underscoring renewed bargain-hunting activity across key sectors.
Market Breadth Favors Advancers
Market breadth remained positive at 1.6x, with 36 stocks advancing against 23 decliners. Leading gainers included Airtel Africa, CONHALLPLC, JOHNHOLT, LEGENDINT, and ZICHIS, all posting strong upward movements.
On the downside, NPFMCRFBK, ROYALEX, CWG, VERITASKAP, and UPDC recorded the steepest losses, reflecting selective profit-taking in some counters.
Top Gainers and Losers
Among the session’s standout performers, JOHNHOLT, CONHALLPLC, Airtel Africa, and LEGENDINT each gained the maximum 10.00%. Conversely, NPFMCRFBK (-6.28%), ROYALEX (-5.32%), and CWG (-4.82%) led the decliners’ chart.
Trading Activity Strengthens Despite Fewer Deals
Trading activity improved notably, with total volume rising to 1.29 billion shares and turnover increasing to ₦65.33 billion. However, the number of deals declined by 35.5% to 89,949 transactions, compared with the previous session’s 139,458 deals.
GTCO dominated both the volume and value charts, with 184.38 million shares traded, valued at ₦19.39 billion.
Broad-Based Sectoral Gains
Sectoral performance was broadly positive, led by Insurance (+2.14%), followed by Commodity (+0.64%), Consumer Goods (+0.53%), and Banking (+0.50%). The Industrial Goods and Oil & Gas sectors also closed in positive territory, reinforcing the breadth of the rebound.
Market Outlook
Analysts note that the rebound reflects renewed investor appetite for fundamentally strong stocks following recent profit-taking. Airtel Africa’s sharp rally, in particular, highlights continued investor confidence in telecom and defensive stocks amid volatile macroeconomic conditions.
