First HoldCo, Zenith Bank, GTCO, UBA, Eight Others’ Market Capitalisation Hits N27.4tn in July
Kayode TokedeDriven by strong corporate earnings and renewed investors’ appetite for banking stocks, the combined market capitalisation of Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), First Bank (First HoldCo Plc), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Access Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank, Wema Bank, and five other listed banks on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) rose to N27.4 trillion at the close of trading in July 2026, from N23.33 trillion at the end of June.The N27.4 trillion valuation represented about 17.3 per cent of the NGX’s overall market capitalisation of N158.33 trillion as of July 31, 2026.
During the month under review, the NGX Banking Index appreciated by 22.10 per cent, outperforming the broader market and several other major sectoral indices.On a year-to-date (YtD) basis, the Banking Index ranked among the leading sectoral indices on the Exchange, behind the NGX Oil & Gas and NGX Industrial Goods indices, which had appreciated by 96.32 per cent and 85.42 per cent respectively.The NGX All-Share Index (ASI), meanwhile, gained 6.92 per cent in July, bringing its YtD return to 57.62 per cent, driven by sustained investors’ confidence, improved conditions in the foreign exchange market, impressive corporate earnings and renewed demand for fundamentally sound stocks.
