Sterling Financial Holdings Plc dominated trading activity on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on September 16, accounting for more than 142 million shares as financial stocks continued to absorb a significant share of market liquidity.
A total of 142.04 million Sterling Financial shares valued at N1.07 billion changed hands during the session, making the financial services company the most actively traded equity by volume.
Sterling’s turnover alone represented approximately 21.4 percent of the 662.43 million shares traded across the entire equity market during the session. This means roughly one in every five shares exchanged on the NGX was a Sterling Financial share.
The concentration was not limited to Sterling, as financial stocks occupied all five positions among the most actively traded equities supplied for the session.
| Company | Volume | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Sterling Financial Holdings | 142.04m | N1.07bn |
| AIICO Insurance | 73.63m | N274.42m |
| Fidelity Bank | 43.33m | N873.38m |
| GTCO | 40.55m | N5.27bn |
| Zenith Bank | 34.87m | N4.47bn |
Together, the five stocks accounted for approximately 334.41 million shares, equivalent to about 50.5 percent of total market volume.
Their combined transaction value stood at approximately N11.96 billion, representing nearly 31.9 percent of the N37.45 billion traded across the market.
The figures highlight the degree to which financial stocks continued to underpin liquidity on the Exchange, even as overall market activity strengthened.
While Sterling dominated by volume, GTCO Plc attracted the largest amount of capital among the five most active stocks. Investors exchanged 40.55 million GTCO shares worth approximately N5.27 billion.
Zenith Bank followed with 34.87 million shares valued at N4.47 billion, while Fidelity Bank recorded 43.33 million shares worth N873.38 million.
The difference between volume and transaction value is significant. Sterling traded more than three times GTCO’s share volume, but GTCO generated almost five times Sterling’s transaction value.
Overall market turnover also improved considerably compared with the September 14 session.
Investors traded 662.43 million shares worth N37.45 billion in 63,271 deals, compared with 428.97 million shares valued at N20.52 billion across 54,592 deals on September 14.
Trading volume therefore increased approximately 54.4 percent, while transaction value jumped 82.5 percent and the number of deals rose about 15.9 percent.
The stronger activity coincided with an improvement in the broader market with the NGX All-Share Index rising 0.61 percent to 244,791.79 points.
Equity market capitalisation increased by approximately N967.72 billion to N158.715 trillion from N157.747 trillion on September 14.
Sterling Financial’s position at the top of the activity chart, alongside the strong presence of AIICO, Fidelity Bank, GTCO and Zenith Bank, shows that the expansion in market turnover remained heavily concentrated in financial stocks.
With the five counters responsible for more than half of all shares traded during the session, the sector remained central to the depth and direction of liquidity on the Nigerian equity market.