Afriland, NDEP Brighten Spirits at NASD With 0.81% Growth

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded its first growth for the week on Thursday as the market closed 0.81 per cent higher.

The gains reported yesterday was mainly influenced by the positive price movement in the stocks of Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc.

The firms boosted the market capitalisation of the bourse by N3.99 billion to close at N504.16 billion compared with N500.17 billion it ended on Wednesday.

Equally, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 5.61 points to end the day at 709.28 points as against 703.67 points it recorded at the previous session.

During the trading day, NDEP Plc gained N22 or 8.0 per cent to settle at N297 per unit compared to N275 per unit of the prior session, while Afriland Plc appreciated by 5 kobo or 4.1 per cent to finish at N1.26 per share as against the previous N1.21 per share.

Business Post reports that there was no price loser on Thursday.

A look at the activity chart showed that there was a rise in the volume of shares transacted by investors by 235.8 per cent as 35,472 units exchanged hands compared with the 10,563 units transacted by market participants on Wednesday.

In the same vein, there was a surge in the value of shares traded yesterday by 5,701.8 per cent to N8.9 million from N153,692 recorded a day before.

These trades came from two deals executed on the day’s price gainers, NDEP Plc and Afriland Plc. At the preceding session, only a single deal was carried out, indicating a 100 per cent rise in the number of deals on Thursday.

When trading activities were halted for the day, UBN Property Plc remained as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 21.9 million units of its shares worth N24.6 million.

It was trailed by Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc with 7.0 million units of its securities valued at N109.2 million and FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc with 2.9 million units valued at N362.0 million.

But in terms of the most traded stock by value (year-to-date), Friesland retained its top spot for trading 2.9 million units of its shares worth N362.0 million. NDEP Plc was in second place with 696,749 units worth N222.2 million, while CSCS Plc held the third position with 7.0 million units of its shares worth N109.2 million.