Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange opened the first trading day of the new month with a loss on Wednesday, July 1.
At the session, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) fell by 0.88 percent or 6.27 points to end the day at 709.24 points compared to 715.91 points recorded on Tuesday.
Also, the market capitalisation contracted by 0.88 percent or N4.61 billion to N520.98 billion from the N525.59 billion it quoted the previous day.
The contraction recorded by the unlisted securities market was influenced by the decline in the share price of a bellwether, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc.
Business Post reports that at the market yesterday, the milk producer suffered a N4.72 or 3.8 percent drop in its share price, closing at N123.23 per share as against N124.95 per share it traded previously.
Despite the decline in the benchmark indices on Wednesday, the market reported a 102.5 percent spike in the volume of shares transacted by market participants.
A total of 23,182 units of securities exchanged hands yesterday at the NASD OCT exchange compared with the 11,450 units of stocks bought and sold at the previous session.
These came from six deals executed from two stocks during the session and they belonged to FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc (five deals) and VFD Group Plc (one deal). At the previous session, only three deals were carried out, indicating a 100 percent rise yesterday.
The total value of these shares traded at the midweek session was worth N2.7 million. On Tuesday, the total value of stocks transacted by investors was N1.35 million, representing 99.9 percent increase in the trading value.
ARM Life Plc closed the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 7.4 billion units of its shares traded for N4.6 billion, while Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc was in second place with 196.7 million units worth N2.6 billion, with Food Concept Plc in the third post with 110 million units of its shares sold for N80.5 million.
On the top traded by value log (year-to-date), ARM Life Plc also held the top position with 7.4 billion units sold for N4.6 billion. CSCS Plc followed with 196.7 million units exchanged for N2.6 billion, while Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc held the third place with 7.9 million units of its securities valued at N2.4 million.
