CSCS Plc Leads NASD Exchange to 0.55% Growth on Thursday

By Adedapo Adesanya

Gains recorded by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc pushed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange northwards on Thursday, January 23.

At the close of transactions yesterday, the share price of the country’s Central Securities Depository appreciated by 55 kobo or 4.55 percent to N12.10 per share from N11.55 per share on Wednesday.

This spurred the bourse’s major parameters, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) and the market capitalisation, to point north, with the total market value rising by N2.75 billion or 0.55 percent from N504.84 billion to N507.59 billion. In the same vein, the NSI increased by 0.55 percent or 3.83 points to 706.52 points from 702.69 points at the midweek’s session.

Despite positive performance of the market, the level of activity dropped as the total volume of shares transacted by traders on Thursday plummeted by 62.1 percent to 106,810 units from 281,690 units.

Similarly, the total value of securities traded by investors at the market depreciated by 97 percent to N1.2 million from the N38.5 million worth of shares exchanged at the midweek trading session.

However, the total number of deals printed on Thursday rose by four deals or 200 percent as six deals were executed by traders compared with the two deals at the previous session.

ARM Life Plc still ended the session as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 29 million units of its shares worth N18.3 million exchanged at the market, while the day’s market advancer, CSCS Plc, occupied the second place, with 916,975 units worth N10.6 million, with oil investment company, Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP), occupying the third position after selling 567,600 units of its shares worth N179 million.

On the other hand, NDEP Plc was at the zenith of most active stocks by value (year-to-date) on Thursday, trading 567,600 units of its shares worth N179 million, while Friesland still held the second position with 330,275 units transacted for N44.4 million, with ARM Life Plc in third place with 29,000,000 units traded at N18.3 million.