Lagos, Nigeria – The Nigerian All-Share Index closed lower on Thursday, February 26, 2026, shedding 802.4 points to settle at 193,567.8, slipping below the 194,000 mark as bearish sentiment persisted in large-cap banking stocks.
The 0.41 percent decline followed the previous day’s close of 194,370.2, with market capitalisation falling to N124.2 trillion (approximately $79.4 billion) across 69,310 deals.
Okay News reports that trading activity reflected the bearish mood, with volume dipping to 868 million shares from 1.38 billion shares exchanged in the prior session. By value, Zenith Bank topped the chart with N4.05 billion in trades, followed by MTN Nigeria with N3.07 billion, Lafarge with N2.89 billion, GTCO with N2.13 billion, and Aradel with N1.98 billion. The year-to-date return eased to 24.39 percent from 24.91 percent recorded in the previous session.
On the gainers’ chart, buying interest remained selective as FTN Cocoa and RT Briscoe led the advance, rising 10.00 percent and 9.95 percent respectively. Conversely, profit-taking weighed on Jaiz Bank and Ikeja Hotel, which shed 9.98 percent and 9.90 percent. In terms of volume, Jaiz Bank led with 78.9 million shares exchanged, followed by Japaul Gold with 73.2 million, Access Holdings with 66.9 million, Chams with 56.8 million, and Zenith Bank with 45.4 million.
Among SWOOTs, stocks with market capitalisation above N1 trillion, performance largely tilted to the downside with Lafarge slipping 8.21 percent, Wema Bank falling 1.1 percent, Fidelity Bank dropping 0.98 percent, and Nigerian Breweries easing 0.06 percent. In the FUGAZ banking segment, sentiment was broadly negative as UBA slipped 3.27 percent, Zenith Bank fell 2.20 percent, Access Holdings shed 1.5 percent, and GTCO declined 0.76 percent, with First Hold Co as the only gainer rising 4.85 percent.
The day’s decline was largely driven by losses in large-cap stocks, particularly Lafarge, alongside declines in major banking stocks. The drop in trading activity reflects stagnant price action observed in some large-cap names. If the downward trend continues, the All-Share Index could see a shallow or deeper retracement, although it remains in overbought territory. Sustained trading activity levels will be critical to determining the market’s next direction.
