NGX October 2026 Review: Dangote Cement carries the index to a record

The All-Share Index rose 1.2% in October and closed the month at a record 254,299.49. One company did nearly all of the work: Dangote Cement added about ₦6 trillion of market value while the banking index fell 10.4%.

Three weeks down, one week up

For most of the month the market drifted lower. The index fell in 11 of the first 15 sessions, lost 0.91% on 19 October in its worst day of the month, and reached its October low of 244,956.94 on 22 October, 2.5% below where September ended.

The last six sessions reversed all of it. The ASI gained 1.65% on 26 October, the best day of the month, then set record closes on 27, 29 and 30 October. It finished at 254,299.49, above the previous record of 252,566.84 set on 28 September. Only 9 of October's 21 sessions closed higher, so the month's gain came from a handful of large up days.

One stock did the work

Dangote Cement rose 33.1%, from ₦1,066.70 to ₦1,420.00, adding about ₦6.0 trillion of market value by our estimate. The whole exchange added ₦2.01 trillion. Without Dangote Cement, October would have been a losing month for the NGX.

Almost all of that move came in the final week. The shares closed at ₦1,010.00 on 22 October and at ₦1,420.00 on 29 October, a 40.6% rise in five sessions, three of them close to the exchange's 10% daily limit. That run is also why the NGX Industrial index gained 16.9% in the month while most other sector indices fell.

The index set a record, but only 28 of 144 priced stocks rose in October. 71 fell.

A typical NGX portfolio did worse than the headline. Outside Dangote Cement, the largest companies were flat or lower: MTN Nigeria rose 1.6%, Airtel Africa, BUA Foods and Seplat Energy ended unchanged, and Aradel Holdings fell 5.9%.

Banks had their worst month since June

The NGX Banking index fell 10.4%, its biggest monthly drop since June. First HoldCo, the best performer of the third quarter, gave back 25.5% (₦159.90 to ₦119.15) and removed about ₦1.8 trillion of market value, the largest loss of any stock. Zenith Bank fell 11.2%, GTCO 9.1%, UBA 7.6% and Access Holdings 5.9%. Fidelity Bank was the exception among the large lenders, up 10.9%.

Insurance stocks also had a weak month, with the NGX Insurance index down 5.5%, while oil and gas (−2.6%) and consumer goods (−1.1%) slipped more gently.

Trading activity

Investors traded shares worth ₦552.7 billion across 813,051 deals in October, an average of ₦26.3 billion a session. That is about 30% below the third-quarter average of ₦37.5 billion, so the late rally came on thinner trading than the summer. The busiest day was the last one: ₦68.8 billion changed hands on 30 October.

By our estimate, the most traded stocks by value were First HoldCo (about ₦99 billion), Zenith Bank (₦66 billion), Aradel Holdings (₦62 billion), GTCO (₦53 billion) and MTN Nigeria (₦42 billion). Four of those five fell in the month, so much of the heavy trading in banks came while prices were falling.

What to watch in November

Three things: whether Dangote Cement holds a gain this large once the buying slows, since the index now leans on it heavily; whether the banks find a floor after a month of selling, with nine-month results from the lenders still being digested; and turnover, because a record set on light volume is easier to give back. The pipeline of new listings, including the planned Dangote Refinery offer, is tracked in NGX Capital Raises 2026. For the quarter before this one, see the NGX Q3 2026 Review.