By Adedapo Adesanya
The bears feasted on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Tuesday on the invitation of Food Concepts Plc and Nipco Plc.
At the close of business yesterday, the bears chased out the bulls from the exchange and left the unlisted securities market bleeding by 0.25 per cent.
As a result, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) slid by 1.83 points to 727.03 points from 728.86 points, while the market capitalisation depreciated by N1.35 billion to N534.05 billion from N535.40 billion.
Business Post reports that the share price of Food Concepts, owners of the popular Chicken Republic, went down on Tuesday by 7 kobo or 10.3 per cent to 68 kobo per unit from 75 kobo per unit, while that of Nipco shed N5 or 7.7 per cent to settle at N65 per share from N70 per share.
On the activity chart, the total volume of securities traded by investors during the session increased significantly by 32,831.5 per cent from 33,850 units published on Monday to 11.1 million units.
In the same vein, the total value of stocks exchanged rose steeply by 10,732.9 per cent from N210,975 on Monday to N22.9 million.
In addition, the exchange also saw a higher number of deals executed by traders yesterday, rising by 125 per cent as 11 deals were carried out compared to four deals transacted at the previous session.
Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc led with three deals, Food Concepts Plc and Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc followed with two deals each, while FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, UBN Properties Plc, Nipco Plc, and Geo Fluid Plc all recorded one deal each.
At the close of transactions, ARM Life Plc remained as the company with the highest number of traded securities on a year-to-date basis. The insurer has traded 7.4 billion units of its shares worth N4.6 billion.
CSCS Plc was in second place with 202.9 million units worth N2.7 billion, while Food Concept Plc held the third position with 126.1 million units of its shares worth N88.7 million.
Equally, ARM Life Plc remained as the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 7.4 billion units valued at N4.6 billion, while NDEP Plc followed with 8.8 million units worth N2.7 billion, with CSCS Plc in the third spot for transacting 202.9 million units valued at N2.7 billion.