NASD Exchange Records First Gain in December, Rises 0.99%

By Adedapo Adesanya

The bull finally made an appearance for the first time in December on Monday on the floor of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange.

The day’s favourable outcome, which led to the 0.99 per cent growth, came from the stocks of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, one of the bellwethers on the exchange.

The last time that the unlisted securities market in Nigeria recorded a rise was at the closing session for the month.

Yesterday, the NASD unlisted securities index (NSI) moved up by 10.10 points to 729.67 points from 719.57 points, while the market capitalisation gained N5.31 million to wrap the day at N540.14 billion from N534.86 billion.

The share price of FrieslandCampina moved up yesterday by N8 or 6.1 per cent to close at N140 per share in contrast to N132 per share it closed recently.

During the session, the trading volume improved by 6,541.6 per cent as a total of 743,852 units of shares exchanged hands compared with the 11,200 units transacted previously.

Also, there was a 100 per cent rise in the number of deals traded as six deals were carried out compared to three deals at the previous session.

At the close of business, the trading value from these transactions went up by 4,707.3 per cent to N52.5 million from the previous day rate of N1.1 million.

Despite the gains recorded on Monday, there was a price decliner and it was the Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc, which lost 50 kobo to close at N14 per unit versus the previously traded rate of N14.50 per unit.

ARM Life Plc maintained its position as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 7.4 billion units of its shares worth N4.6 billion. CSCS Plc was in second place with 205.0 million units traded at N2.7 billion, while Food Concepts Plc followed with 152.1 million units traded at N109.4 million.

In terms of the most traded stock by value (year-to-date), ARM Life Plc still retained the top spot after transacting 7.4 billion units worth N4.6 billion. Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc came next with 11.8 million units of securities exchanged for N3.6 billion, while CSCS Plc sat in third place trading 205.0 million units valued at N2.7 billion.