Food Concepts, Two Others Rescue OTC Exchange From Bears

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed in the green territory after it chalked up by 0.37 per cent on Friday, September 22, as three securities finished on the price gainers’ chart and one stock closed in the price losers’ table.

This raised the market capitalisation of the OTC Exchange by N4.24 billion to N1.143 trillion from the previous day’s N1.139 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) increased during the session by 3.00 points to finish at 808.95 points compared with Thursday’s 805.95 points.

At the close of transactions, investors traded a total of 10.7 million units of securities, in contrast to the 346,120 units of securities transacted in the preceding session, indicating a jump of 2,990.7 per cent.

Also, the value of shares exchanged by the market participants went up by 76.9 per cent to N32.9 million from the N18.6 million recorded in the previous session.

However, the total number of deals carried out yesterday decreased by 17.7 per cent to 14 deals versus the 17 deals executed a day earlier, according to data from the bourse.

Food Concepts Plc, owners of fast food chain Chicken Republic, was the biggest price gainer on Friday as it gained 14 Kobo to close at N1.53 per unit versus Thursday’s N1.39 per unit, UBN Property Plc appreciated by 11 Kobo to finish at N1.22 per share compared with the previous day’s N1.11 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc grew by 3 Kobo to settle at 37 Kobo per unit, in contrast to the earlier session’s 34 Kobo per unit.

The share price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc closed lower during the session by 3 Kobo to quote at N17.05 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N17.53 per unit.

CSCS Plc retained its position as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.1 billion units worth N22.2 billion, followed by UBN Property Plc with 944.3 units valued at N939.8 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 667.3 million units valued at N1.2 billion.

The most traded stock by value (year-to-date) was still CSCS Plc with 1.1 billion units worth N22.2 billion, trailed by VFD Group with 26.6 million units valued at N5.9 billion, and Aradel Holdings Plc with 6.2 million units worth N2.2 billion.