GTCO Leads by Value as Banking Stocks Retain Liquidity Leadership

GTCO Plc emerged as the Nigerian Exchange’s most valuable traded stock on Thursday as banking equities once again dominated high-value transactions, underscoring the sector’s continued role as the market’s primary source of liquidity.

Investors exchanged 25.74 million GTCO shares worth N3.33 billion, making the banking giant the market’s most valuable traded equity for the day.

Zenith Bank Plc followed with N1.78 billion worth of shares traded, while Access Holdings Plc remained among the Exchange’s most active stocks by volume.

Most Actively Traded Stocks

Although FTG Insurance Plc dominated the session by volume with more than 1.03 billion shares traded, the value rankings tell a different story.

GTCO and Zenith Bank attracted significantly larger cash inflows, highlighting continued institutional preference for large-cap banking stocks.

Compared with the previous session, banking equities once again featured prominently among the market’s most actively traded securities.

Access Holdings, GTCO and Zenith Bank all remained on the activity leaderboard, underscoring the sector’s consistent role in supporting market liquidity even as trading patterns shifted elsewhere.

The broader market recorded a modest recovery during the session.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced 0.06 percent from 242,223.10 to 242,378.13 points, while equity market capitalisation increased by approximately N100.51 billion to N157.150 trillion, ending a two-day losing streak.

Overall market activity strengthened considerably with investors exchanging 1.399 billion shares valued at N27.14 billion, compared with 534.45 million shares worth N22.28 billion in the previous session.

While the surge in trading volume was largely driven by FTG Insurance, the banking sector remained the Exchange’s primary destination for high-value transactions.

Thursday’s trading reaffirmed the central role of Nigeria’s banking stocks in the equity market. Even as exceptional activity in a non-bank stock transformed overall trading volume, GTCO, Zenith Bank and Access Holdings continued to attract substantial capital, demonstrating that the financial sector remains the NGX’s principal source of institutional liquidity and value-driven trading.