By Adedapo Adesanya
The performance of the unlisted securities market in Nigeria could not extend its first appreciation of the month on Wednesday.
During the trading session, the market depreciated by 1.12 per cent on the back of the losses accrued by bellwether stocks, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc and Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc.
Business Post reports that at the close of transactions at the NASD Over-the-Counter Securities Exchange yesterday, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) depreciated by 8.15 points to close at 721.38 points from 729.53 points while the market capitalisation reduced by N6.06 billion to settle at N536.20 billion compared with N542.26 billion it ended the previous session.
An analysis of the market showed that FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc recorded a N5.93 or 4.2 per cent decline to its share price to close at N134.07 per share compared with the previous day’s N140 per share.
In the same vein, the share price of CSCS Plc depreciated by 46 kobo or 3.2 per cent on Wednesday to trade at N13.74 per unit as against N14.20 per unit it sold at the previous session.
There was a price gainer on Wednesday, Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc, but its positive performance could not sway the market in its favour.
The share price of the company appreciated by 3.7 per cent or N11.18 yesterday to finish at N300.76 per share in contrast to the N311.94 it ended on Tuesday.
At the market yesterday, the volume of transactions rose by 27 per cent as 2.9 million units of securities were exchanged compared to 2.2 million units traded a day earlier. However, the value of trades depleted by 62.7 per cent to N55.0 million from N147.5 million sold at the Tuesday session.
It was observed that the total deals executed by traders jumped 500 per cent to 18 deals from the three deals executed on Tuesday.
CSCS Plc registered 11 out of the total deals while NDEP Plc made four with FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc making the remaining three deals.
At the close of business, ARM Life Plc stood firm as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 7.4 billion units of its shares worth N4.6 billion traded, CSCS Plc was in second place with 207.9 million units traded at N2.8 billion while Food Concepts Plc followed in third place with 152.1 million units traded at N109.4 million.
In terms of the value of trades (year-to-date), ARM Life Plc still retained the zenith position with a total of 7.4 billion units worth N4.6 billion. NDEP Plc came next with 11.9 million units exchanged for N3.7 billion while CSCS Plc sat in third place for trading 207.9 million units valued at N2.8 billion.
