Fidelity Bank Plc dominated trading on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on September 17, accounting for nearly half of all shares exchanged after investors traded 524.33 million units of the bank’s stock.
The transaction represented approximately 47.2 percent of the 1.112 billion shares traded across the equities market during the session, placing Fidelity Bank significantly ahead of other actively traded stocks.
The 524.33 million shares were valued at approximately N10.30 billion, making Fidelity Bank one of the largest contributors to the N46.02 billion recorded in total market turnover.
The scale of activity was particularly significant when compared with the broader market. Fidelity Bank’s turnover alone exceeded the 428.97 million shares traded across the entire NGX on September 14.
Trading activity was also substantially higher than Fidelity Bank’s performance in the preceding session.
On September 16, investors exchanged 43.33 million Fidelity Bank shares worth approximately N873.38 million. This means the bank’s trading volume increased more than twelvefold to 524.33 million shares on September 17, while the value of transactions climbed above N10 billion.
The surge came as financial stocks continued to attract a substantial portion of trading activity on the Exchange.
Zenith Bank recorded 78.56 million shares worth approximately N10.10 billion, Sterling Financial Holdings followed with 75.82 million shares valued at N572.72 million, while Access Holdings recorded 44.73 million shares worth N1.28 billion.
Mutual Benefits Assurance was also among the most active stocks, recording 80.90 million shares valued at N266.70 million.
Despite Fidelity Bank’s overwhelming lead by volume, Zenith Bank’s considerably smaller number of shares generated almost the same transaction value. Fidelity Bank’s N10.30 billion turnover was only about N203 million above Zenith Bank’s N10.10 billion, highlighting the difference in the market prices of the two stocks.
Overall market activity strengthened considerably during the session. Investors exchanged 1.112 billion shares worth N46.02 billion in 54,102 deals, compared with 662.43 million shares valued at N37.45 billion in 63,271 deals on September 16.
This represented a 67.8 percent increase in trading volume and a 22.9 percent rise in transaction value, even as the number of deals declined by approximately 14.5 percent.
The surge in activity coincided with another positive session for Nigerian equities. The NGX All-Share Index advanced 0.62 percent to 246,315.38 points, while equity market capitalisation increased by approximately N1.18 trillion to N159.89 trillion.
Fidelity Bank’s 524.33 million-share turnover nevertheless remained the defining feature of the session’s trading activity with a single banking stock responsible for almost one out of every two shares exchanged on the Nigerian equities market.