GTCO Plc emerged as the biggest destination for trading capital on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on September 16, accounting for N5.27 billion in transactions as market turnover surged and equities added nearly N1 trillion in market value.
The banking group recorded 40.55 million shares worth N5.27 billion, making it the most actively traded stock by value during a session in which total transaction value climbed to N37.45 billion, up sharply from N20.52 billion on September 14.
GTCO’s dominance came as overall market participation strengthened with 662.43 million shares exchanged in 63,271 deals, while the NGX All-Share Index advanced 0.61 percent to 244,791.79 points and equity market capitalisation rose to N158.715 trillion.
The concentration of trading value in GTCO and other banking stocks indicates that the sector remained a major destination for investor capital as liquidity returned to the broader market.
Zenith Bank followed GTCO in value terms, recording 34.87 million shares worth N4.47 billion, while Sterling Financial Holdings traded 142.04 million shares valued at N1.07 billion.
Fidelity Bank recorded 43.33 million shares worth N873.38 million, while AIICO Insurance completed the five most active stocks with 73.63 million shares valued at N274.42 million.
| Company | Volume | Value |
|---|---|---|
| GTCO | 40.55m | N5.27bn |
| Zenith Bank | 34.87m | N4.47bn |
| Sterling Financial Holdings | 142.04m | N1.07bn |
| Fidelity Bank | 43.33m | N873.38m |
| AIICO Insurance | 73.63m | N274.42m |
GTCO and Zenith Bank alone generated approximately N9.74 billion in transactions, equivalent to about 26 percent of the entire N37.45 billion equity market turnover for the session.
This concentration is significant because the two banks accounted for just 75.41 million shares, or roughly 11.4 percent of total market volume, but attracted more than a quarter of the money committed to equities during the session.
The disparity illustrates the difference between liquidity measured by the number of shares exchanged and liquidity measured by the amount of capital deployed.
Sterling Financial was the clear volume leader with 142.04 million shares, representing about 21.4 percent of total market volume, but GTCO generated almost five times Sterling’s transaction value despite trading less than a third of Sterling’s volume.
The figures reinforce the importance of higher-priced banking stocks in determining the value of transactions passing through the Nigerian equity market.
Collectively, GTCO, Zenith Bank, Sterling Financial and Fidelity Bank recorded approximately 260.78 million shares worth N11.69 billion.
The four banking stocks therefore accounted for about 39.4 percent of the 662.43 million shares traded across the market and approximately 31.2 percent of total transaction value.
The strength in banking activity occurred during a broader improvement in market turnover.
Compared with September 14, trading volume increased approximately 54.4 percent, while transaction value expanded 82.5 percent and the number of deals rose about 15.9 percent.
The stronger participation also accompanied an increase in market value. Equity market capitalisation rose by approximately N967.72 billion, from N157.747 trillion on September 14 to N158.715 trillion, while the benchmark index advanced by about 0.61 percent.
The combination of higher market value, increased turnover and a larger number of transactions points to stronger participation in the September 16 session compared with the previous data.
However, the distribution of trading activity remained heavily tilted toward financial stocks.
GTCO’s N5.27 billion turnover, together with Zenith Bank’s N4.47 billion, shows that banking equities continued to absorb a substantial portion of capital deployed on the Exchange.
While Sterling Financial dominated the number of shares exchanged, GTCO’s leadership by transaction value demonstrates that the largest concentration of money among the most active counters was directed toward higher-value banking equities during the session.
