Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange returned from the Eid el-Fitr holidays with a 1.78 per cent growth on Friday.
The closing of the unlisted securities market in the positive territory was boosted by the upward movement in the prices of four securities admitted on the NASD Exchange.
The four companies which spurred the growth were Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Nipco Plc and Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc.
CSCS Plc gained N1.51 or 8.6 per cent during the session to close at N17.65 per unit as against N16.14 per unit it closed at the last session on Tuesday.
On its part, Friesland appreciated by N2 or 2 per cent to close at N130 per share versus the previous N128 per share, Nipco rose by 50 kobo to trade at N70 per unit as against the previous closing price of N69.50 per unit, while NDEP appreciated by one kobo to sell at N302.01 per unit compared with N302 per unit it traded on Tuesday before the Wednesday and Thursday Eid al-Fitr break.
The gains posted by these stocks increased the market capitalisation of the bourse by N9.6 billion to N546.20 billion from N536.60 billion and jerked the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) higher by 13.51 points to 768.42 points from 754.91 points recorded at the previous session.
Business Post reports that the market recorded a price decliner on Friday as the share price of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc reduced by N1.52 or 6.8 per cent to N22.25 per unit from the previous N23.77 per unit.
A total of 52.9 million stocks were transacted at the market yesterday compared to the 1.4 million stocks traded at the previous session, indicating a 3,761.4 per cent surge.
Equally, the value of transactions rose by 474.8 per cent to N226.1 million from N39.3 million achieved at the preceding session, while the number of deals executed stood at 57 deals, 42.5 per cent higher than the 40 deals of Tuesday.
These deals were executed on six companies with NGX Group accounting for 45 deals, Friesland recording eight deals, and NDEP Plc, CSCS Plc, Swap Technologies & Telecomms Plc and Nipco Plc recording one deal each.
NGX Group closed the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) for trading 192.0 million units of its shares worth N4.5 billion. Swap Technologies & Telecomms Plc took over in second place with 93.2 million units worth N82.0 million, while CSCS Plc held the third position with 27.2 million units of its shares worth N419.4 million.
Also, NGX Group was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 192.0 million units valued at N4.5 billion. It was followed by NDEP Plc with 2.5 million units valued at N763.4 million and Friesland with 4.7 million units worth N586.2 million.
