By Adedapo Adesanya
Nipco Plc led the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into a negative territory on Monday, January 27 as key market parameters closed pointing south.
The oil and gas company, which ended the first trading day of the new week as the only price decliner, suffered a loss of N4.20k or 5.9 percent to settle at N71 per share in contrast to N75.20 per share it previously traded.
This contributed to the 0.16 percent decline printed by the market capitalisation and NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI). While the market cap went down by N790 million to N506.80 billion from N507.59 billion, the NSI fell by 1.10 points from 705.42 points to N706.52 points.
The total volume of shares transacted by investors during the session plummeted by 67 percent or 314,389 units to 154,625 units from the 469,014 units traded at the previous trading session.
Similarly, the total value of stocks transacted by traders at the NASD Exchange fell by 49.5 percent equivalent to N3 million to N3.3 million from N6.5 million recorded previously.
However, the only parameter that pointed up at the end of the day was the number of deals executed, as traders carried out 13 deals in the session in contrast to the five deals that occurred last Friday, indicating a rise by 160 percent equivalent to eight deals.
Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) has transacted the highest number of stocks by value with 567,600 units of its shares worth N180 million traded while FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria has exchanged 343,488 units for N45.9 million, with ARM Life Plc trading 29,000,000 units of its securities valued at N18.3 million.
Meanwhile, in terms of volume (year-to-date), ARM Life Plc closed on Monday on top of the chart with 29 million units of its shares worth N18.3 million exchanged at the bourse, while Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was in second place with 1,055,377 units worth N12.3 million, with UBN Property Company still held the third position with 745,800 units of its shares worth N1.2 million.
