By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange moved northwards on Thursday, December 10 by 0.41 per cent.
The movement increased the market capitalisation by N2.21 billion to N538.41 billion from N536.20 billion and increased the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 2.97 points to end the day at 724.35 points as against 721.38 points it recorded at the previous session.
The growth seen at the unlisted securities market yesterday was buoyed by two bellwethers, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc and Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc.
Incidentally, the two stocks were responsible for the decline recorded on the NASD Exchange at the midweek session but yesterday, they made up for the plunging of the bourse to the dungeon.
At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina appreciated by 93 kobo or 0.7 per cent to sell at N135 per share in contrast to Wednesday’s N134.07 per share. On its part, CSCS gained 26 kobo or 1.9 per cent to trade at N14.00 per share as against N13.74 it traded the previous day.
However, there was a drop in the volume of shares traded by investors on Thursday by 79.0 per cent as 598,264 units of stocks exchanged hands in contrast to the 2.85 million units traded a day earlier.
In the same vein, there was a drop in the value of shares traded yesterday and this was by 80.6 per cent as shares worth N10.7 million were traded by market participants compared with the previous day’s N55.0 million.
These trades came from eight deals executed on two companies led by FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc (seven deals) and CSCS Plc (one deal). At the preceding session, 18 deals were executed by investors, indicating a 55.6 per cent decline in deals.
ARM Life Plc closed the session as the most active stock volume (year-to-date) with 7.4 billion units of its shares worth N4.6 billion, while CSCS Plc was in second place with 208.5 million units worth N2.8 billion, with Food Concepts Plc in the third position with 152.1 million units of its shares worth N109.4 million.
Equally, ARM Life Plc also remained as the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 7.4 billion units of securities traded for N4.6 billion. Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc has traded 11.9 million units worth N3.7 billion, while CSCS Plc has transacted 208.5 million units valued at N2.8 billion.
