Earnings from banks have been solid, alongside reports from manufacturers including Dangote Cement, Tunde Abidoye, a securities analyst at investment bank FBNQuest in Lagos, said by phone.

The banking index was up 2.2% to 732.24 points, the highest since Oct 2008. The index is up 75% this year and is heading for its best performance in at least 10 years.

“The interest-rate environment and revaluation gains are positive for the banking stocks and are helping the index,” Abidoye said.

Nigeria’s biggest lenders have seen their third-quarter earnings more than double, boosted by foreign-exchange revaluation gains. Zenith Bank, the country’s second-biggest bank by assets, reported net income for the nine-month period of 433.9 billion naira, compared with 174.23 billion naira a year earlier. UBA Plc’s net income of 442 billion naira was nearly 400% higher compared with the previous year.

Dangote Cement, Nigeria’s second-biggest firm by market value, also saw net earnings jump 44% from a year earlier, driven by double-digit increases in prices of the building material. The company’s shares are up 5.8% in the last five days and 26% year-to-date.

Leadership Change

Stocks have rallied since President Bola Tinubu’s government scrapped costly fuel subsidies and devalued the naira, rising 38% year-to-date in local currency. However, a 42% devaluation of the naira means that they are down 22% year-to-date in dollar returns, making it one of the worst-performing equity markets globally.

Gains in local currency have been driven mainly by local investors looking to protect their savings against soaring inflation, which quickened to 27% in September, and the weakening naira. Foreign investors sold a net 7.9 billion naira ($9.86 million) of Nigerian stocks in September, according to the Lagos-based Nigerian Exchange.

Airtel Africa Plc led gains on Wednesday, advancing 10%, the most in about 22 months. The firm’s share price traded at 1,694.10 naira, the highest since Oct. 14, with trading volume at about 11 times the 20-day average.

“More banks are going to be releasing results, so it’s a trend that should continue,” Abidoye said. “The pace can only be weakened by the non-financial companies that are affected by naira devaluation and seeing higher finance costs that have affected their financials.”