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The NGX All-Share Index has already gained 29.27% so far in 2026, a sharp contrast to the 2.66% recorded in the same period last year.

At this pace, the market is not just having a strong start; it is on track to challenge, or even surpass, the 51.49% return recorded in 2025, its best performance in nearly 2 decades.

At this pace, the market is not just having a strong start; it is on track to challenge, or even surpass, the 51.49% return recorded in 2025, its best performance in over 18 years.

At this pace, this is where doubt begins to creep in. Because when prices rise this fast, many, questions start to crop up:

It’s a valid fear. Nobody wants to enter the market just before a pullback. In a market like Nigeria, where sentiment can change quickly, that hesitation is even more understandable.

So, how do you evaluate when to buy and when to wait for a pullback in the market?

Is now a good time to invest? If you’re looking to invest in your future, 5, 10, or 40 years from now, now is as good a time as ever to buy stocks.

It is important to remember that the market is forward-looking. So, if you invest consistently over time, putting more cash into your investments every month or so you will end up catching a correction.

Most importantly, it is advisable to look for undervalued stocks. Because even though the market is up nearly 30%, not everything in it has moved the same way.

Take the banking sector, for instance. 

At first glance, you would expect bank stocks to have already rallied significantly alongside the broader market. But a closer look tells a different story.

Many of these banks are still trading at relatively low levels compared to how much money they are now making.

Across, the banks are still trading at what investors call low P/E ratios around 2x to 4x. In simple terms, what that means is for every N1 these banks are making, you are only paying about N2 to N4 to own that business. That is considered cheap.

When you consider how fast these banks are growing, they look even cheaper, with PEG ratios below 1.

In simple terms, investors are still paying a small price for businesses that are growing their profits rapidly.

Some of these banks are increasing earnings by over 50%, yet their share prices have not fully caught up with that growth.

Specifically: 

Even slightly more re-rated names still look attractive:

But then, as you move away from banking, the story begins to change. In oil and gas, parts of the market have already started to adjust.

The companies are growing strongly, with earnings up by as high as 68%, but unlike many bank stocks, their prices have already begun to reflect the growth.