By Adedapo Adesanya
The opening session of the week at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended in the bearish territory by 1.15 per cent on Monday, April 26.
The unlisted securities market depreciated despite the gains printed by Afriland Properties Plc and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc.
At the close of transactions yesterday, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) reduced by 9.02 points to 776.13 points from the previous 785.15 points.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation of the NASD Exchange decreased by N6.41 billion to close at N551.68 billion in contrast to N558.09 billion it finished last Friday.
Business Post reports that at the market, the NGX Group appreciated by N1.88 or 9.4 per cent to close at N21.87 per unit as against N19.99 per unit it previously traded, while Afriland Properties gained 12 kobo or 9.6 per cent to close at N1.37 per share compared to N1.25 per share of the previous day.
When trading activities were halted for the day, investors traded 7.9 million units of securities, 68.1 per cent lower than the 25.0 million units of securities transacted at the preceding session.
Likewise, there was a decline in the value of shares traded yesterday by 65.5 per cent as shares worth N173.9 million exchanged hands in contrast to N503.4 million of the earlier session.
All these trades were executed in 15 deals, 64.3 per cent lower than the 42 deals recorded at the previous trading session and they were carried out on NGX Group with 11 deals, Afriland Properties Plc with three deals and Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc with a single deal.
At the close of business on Monday, NGX Group was the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 81.4 million units worth N1.6 billion. CSCS Plc was in second place with 25.5 million units worth N390.0 million while UBN Property Plc held the third position with 21.9 million units worth N24.6 million.
In terms of value (year-to-date), NGX Group topped the chart with 81.4 million units worth N1.6 billion. It is followed by the Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc with 2.3 million units valued at N703.6 million and FrieslandCampina WAMCO Plc with 4.1 million units valued at N518.9 million.
Dipo Olowookere