Friesland, Others Lift Unlisted Securities Market by 1.25%

By Adedapo Adesanya

The unlisted securities market closed bullish on Friday after three stocks invited the bulls back to the exchange with a 1.25 per cent growth.

The three securities that lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange yesterday belonged to Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc, Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc and FrieslandCampina WAMCO Plc.

Their sterling performances expanded the market capitalisation of the bourse by N6.79 billion to N549.74 billion from N542.95 billion and increased the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.55 points to end the day at 773.39 points as against 763.84 points it recorded at the previous session.

Yesterday, the share price of NGX Group improved by N1.37 or 6.2 per cent to close at N23.42 per unit as against N22.05 per unit of the preceding day.

On its part, the share price of CSCS Plc appreciated by 60 kobo or 3.5 per cent to sell at N17.60 per share compared to N17 per share it closed on Thursday.

Lastly, the equity value of Friesland went up at the session by N3.88 or 2.9 per cent to sell at N133.88 per unit in contrast to N130 per unit it traded previously.

At the market on Friday, there was a drop in the volume of securities traded by investors by 19.5 per cent as 3.0 million units were transacted in contrast to the 3.8 million units transacted on Thursday.

Likewise, the value of shares traded yesterday declined by 10.9 per cent to N72.7 million from N81.5 million, while the number of deals reduced by 10.5 per cent to 34 deals from 38 deals of the previous trading session.

These deals were executed on NGX Group which accounted for 27 deals, Friesland which accounted for five deals and CSCS which accounted for two deals.

NGX Group closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) for trading 219.2 million units of its shares for N5.0 billion. Swap Technologies & Telecomms Plc was in second place with 46.6 million units worth N41.0 million, while CSCS Plc held the third position with 27.4 million units worth N423.2 million.

Also, NGX Group ended the session as the most active stock by value (year-to-date) for trading 219.2 million units worth N5.0 billion. Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc remained in the second spot with 2.5 million units valued at N763.8 million, while Friesland occupied the third spot with 4.5 million units worth N562.0 million.