By Adedapo Adesanya
The market capitalisation of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange expanded on Thursday by 0.5 per cent or N5.2 billion to settle at N1.05 trillion in contrast to the previous day’s N1.04 trillion.
This increase occurred despite a decline in the NASD unlisted securities index (NSI) by 0.03 per cent or 0.23 points to 794.83 points from 795.06 points on Wednesday.
The reason for this was the inclusion of Cititrust Holdings Plc in the unlisted securities market during the session, which expanded the value of stocks on the trading platform.
The fall posted by the market was triggered by a decline in the share price of Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc by N1.67 or 0.7 per cent to N225.00 per unit versus Wednesday’s N226.67 per unit.
At the session, investors transacted 141,642 units of shares compared with the 4.0 million units of shares transacted on Wednesday, representing a decline of 96.5 per cent.
However, the value of the trades jumped by 5.8 per cent to N12.9 million from N12.2 million, while the number of deals depreciated by 30 per cent to 19 deals compared with the 48 deals carried out in the previous session.
AG Mortgage Bank Plc finished the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 2.3 billion units worth N1.2 billion, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc also retained the second spot with the sale of 662.2 million units valued at N13.9 billion, while Food Concepts Plc was in third place for trading 138.0 million units valued at N118.7 million.
In the same vein, CSCS Plc maintained its position as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 662.2 million units valued at N13.9 billion, VFD Group Plc was in second place with 9.4 million units worth N2.9 billion, while AG Mortgage Plc retained the third place with the sale of 2.3 billion units valued at N1.2 billion.
Dipo Olowookere