Nigerian All-Share Index Drops 941.2 Points on Bank Declines

On February 17, 2026, the Nigerian All-Share Index halted its 11-day winning streak, shedding 941.2 points to settle at 189,321.24. This decline was primarily driven by a 0.49% drop in tier-one bank stocks, which brought an end to the market's recent upward momentum.

Despite this pullback, trading activity remained robust, with total volume rising to 1.19 billion shares across 86,607 deals, although market capitalization slipped from N122.1 trillion to N121.5 trillion. Zenith Bank recorded the highest value of trade at N8 billion, but the market momentum turned bearish as the share index fell below the 190,000 mark.

Other notable declines included UBA, which decreased by 6.56%, Access Bank by 4.63%, and GTCO by 2.33%. The overall market sentiment was dampened, with only First Holdco PLC showing gains amidst widespread profit-taking in the banking sector.