New Year, New Money Moves: Stock Market Takeaways for 2026

 

📈 New Year, New Money Moves: Stock Market Takeaways for 2026 💰

By: Dr. Salihu Lukman

As we step into a new year, one truth keeps getting louder: money that sleeps loses value; money that works grows.

Here are some powerful stock-market lessons worth carrying into 2026 👇

1️⃣ Stocks are not just risky — they are powerful wealth builders.

Despite volatility, stocks remain one of the best vehicles for capital preservation and massive appreciation. The wealthy understand this deeply.

Take Femi Otedola, a dollar billionaire: he bought GEREGU Power at its IPO in 2022 for ₦100 per share and exited recently at about ₦1,141.50 — earning billions of naira. Another heavyweight, former Zamfara governor Abdulaziz Yari, stepped in afterward.

Now pause and study this carefully: some of the top 10 performing stocks in 2025 delivered between 272% and 1,354% returns in just one year. This is not luck — it’s strategy.

2️⃣ How you place your trade matters more than you think.

From 4 months of close, real trading experience, here’s a golden rule:

🔹 Avoid buying or selling at market price. It often kills instant profit opportunities.

🔹 Always check the order book before trading.

The order book shows you what buyers are bidding and what sellers are offering — real market intentions, not averages.

Platforms like Cowrywise make this very clear. With the order book, you can place limit orders, choose how long your order stays active, and squeeze more value from every trade. Truly, experience is the best teacher.

3️⃣ Fundamentals + price history = smarter profits.

Always aim for fundamentally sound companies (strong financials, leadership, and prospects) with a track record of price performance.

From my observations, solid stocks fall into three broad patterns:

• 📈 Progressive growers with minor dips (e.g. BUAFOODS, EUNISELL, FIDSON).

• 📉 Strong companies with long price stagnation or decline — better for patient, long-term investors (e.g. Transcorp, Accesscorp, Oando).

• 🔄 Fluctuating but appreciating stocks, common with banks (GTCO, Zenith, NAHCO), great for both trading and long-term strategies depending on your goal.

Before buying any stock, check at least its 1-year or 5-year price chart. You’re in the market to make money — so plan to maximize it.

4️⃣ Never forget: risk is real.

Stock investing rewards knowledge, not assumptions. Just recently, Aso Savings & Loans and Union Homes lost their operating licenses. Shareholders must now wait for NDIC liquidation — if funds remain.

👉 Due diligence is not optional.

5️⃣ Eyes on 2026: potential golden IPOs 👀

Start positioning your mind (and capital) for these expected listings:

• Dangote Oil Refinery

• Dangote Fertilizer Company

• NNPCL

Dangote plans to float only about 10% of the refinery, with dividends promised in U.S. dollars — a strong hedge against inflation. Many analysts believe this could become the golden stock of the Nigerian market.

📊 For context:

• The stock market gained about 37% in 2024

• It surged to about 51% in 2025, despite volatility

2026 holds even stronger promise.

6️⃣ Diversification is not optional — it is protection.

With over 140 companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) and dozens of them being fundamentally sound, do not limit yourself to just a few familiar names. The more (quality stocks), the merrier.

Spread your investments across different categories — NGX 30 Index, Lotus Islamic Index, Consumer Goods, Growth Index, Premium Index, etc. — based on your conviction and investment goals. This strategy helps consolidate gains and reduce risk over time. If one or two stocks underperform or even go under, strong performers in other sectors will neutralize the impact, keeping your portfolio healthy. The attached pie chart illustrates a simple example of smart diversification.

7️⃣ Master your entry and exit: buy the dip, don’t sell the red.

Your entry point into any stock is critical. Buying quality stocks after a price dip allows you to enter at a discount. Remember, the market naturally moves between bullish (up) and bearish (down) cycles, driven by changing market dynamics. Not all stocks experience prolonged bearish trends, and the only reliable way to identify a genuine dip is by reviewing the stock’s historical price performance chart.

Also, watch closely for Public Offers (POs), Rights Issues (RIs), and Initial Public Offers (IPOs) of fundamentally sound companies. These often provide excellent entry points at discounted prices. For instance, TIP currently has an ongoing PO and RI that ends tomorrow, while FIDSON has just announced a RI. IPOs, in particular, often see price appreciation shortly after listing.

As much as possible, avoid selling stocks in red (at a loss)—provided the company remains fundamentally sound and is not going under, as was the case with Aso Savings and Loans, which was recently shut down. You are in the market to make profits, not to lock in losses. Be patient, allow time for recovery, and sell when the stock turns green (profitable), if you choose to exit.

Do not panic during price drops. Volatility is a permanent feature of the stock market. The market rewards the patient and informed, not the impulsive. If checking your portfolio daily gives you negative vibes, step back—long-term investing does not require daily emotional monitoring.

That said, selling at a loss can sometimes be strategic. If careful analysis shows that exiting a losing position will free capital for a stronger opportunity whose gains can offset the loss, then selling in red may be justified. Remember: a loss remains theoretical until you sell.

🌅 CONCLUSION:

The stock market rewards knowledge, patience, and discipline — not emotions or shortcuts. Wealth is rarely built overnight, but it is consistently built by those who learn the rules, study the patterns, manage risks, and position early.

2026 is not a year to sit on the sidelines. It is a year to plan intentionally, diversify wisely, trade intelligently, and invest with conviction. Let your money stop resting and start working for you.

📈 The market does not move money from the rich to the poor — it moves money from the impatient to the informed.

Be informed. Be prepared. Be positioned.

Let your money start working for you — not against you.

If you found this valuable, like, share, and save this post — and tag someone who needs to start 2026 on a smarter financial path.