The Nigerian Exchange Sheds points in a session marked by cautious trading and selective gains. On Monday, March 30, 2026, the benchmark All-Share Index closed at 200,484.4 points, representing a marginal decline of 0.21% from the previous session’s close of 200,913.1 points. This downward movement reflected a broader negative sentiment, with market capitalization easing to approximately ₦128.6 trillion from ₦128.9 trillion.
Trading activity softened slightly, as total volume dipped to 593 million shares from 594 million. The session’s performance trimmed the market’s year-to-date return to 28.84%. Despite the pullback, the market demonstrated resilience by holding firmly above the critical 200,000-point threshold.
Performance among equities was mixed, creating a divergent gainers and losers chart. Leading the advance, Austin Laz and Zichis surged by 9.98% and 9.93%, respectively. Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology and May & Baker Nigeria recorded the sharpest losses, declining by 10.00% and 9.42%.
In terms of activity, Access Holdings led trading volume with 86.6 million shares exchanged, followed closely by First HoldCo at 84.5 million shares. By value, First HoldCo topped the chart with transactions worth ₦4.2 billion, followed by Zenith Bank at ₦2.6 billion. Performance within the tier-one banking stocks was uneven. First HoldCo advanced by 0.99%, while Zenith Bank declined by 2.86% and GTCO slipped by 0.99%, indicating mild profit-taking in some key names.
The extent of the current market pullback will likely depend on whether large- and mid-cap stocks continue in a retracement phase. Overall, market participation remained relatively soft, with weaker activity observed throughout the session. This trend aligns with a cautious outlook as investors assess opportunities, much like they monitor developments from companies such as Presco Plc Posts or evaluate the Top 10 Most traded securities for directional cues.
