By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading session of the week on the floor of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed bearish on Monday with a 1.32 per cent loss.
This depleted the market capitalisation of the exchange by N8.26 billion as it closed at N617.29 billion compared with N625.55 billion it ended last Friday.
The market fell as a result of heavy loss recorded by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc as its share price fell by N10 to settle at N120.00 per unit in contrast to the previous N130.00 per unit.
Even the gains achieved by two stocks could do nothing to cushion the loss, with Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) rising by N1.65 or 0.7 per cent to sell for N228.99 per unit as against N227.34 per unit of the preceding session.
Also, Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc appreciated during the session by 24 kobo or 1.3 per cent to close at N17.85 per share versus last Friday’s closing price of N17.61 per share.
At the close of transactions, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) depreciated by 10.00 points to end the day at 747.16 points as against 757.16 points it recorded at the previous session.
On the activity chart, there was a rise in the volume of securities traded at the bourse by 174.6 per cent to 57,389 units from 20,900 units, while the number of deals increased by 256.6 per cent to N8.9 million from N2.5 million, with the number of deals rising by 100.00 per cent to 10 deals from five deals of the preceding trading day.
Food Concepts Plc ended the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) as it has traded 11.4 billion units of its shares for N14.4 billion. Lighthouse Financial Services Plc was second with 1.1 billion units traded for N546.2 million, while Geo Fluids Plc was in third place with 1.0 billion units worth N700.1 million.
Also, Food Concepts Plc kept its place as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 11.4 billion units worth N14.4 billion and despite its exit from the bourse, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc remained in the second spot with 456.5 million units traded for N9.2 billion, while VFD Group Plc has traded 10.4 million units valued at N3.5 billion.
Modupe Gbadeyanka