By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Thursday in the midst of a significant decline in the level of participation.
During the trading session, the unlisted securities market recorded no price mover, while the key performance indicators remained unchanged when activities were rounded up.
Business Post reports that the market capitalisation of the NASD Exchange retained the previous value of N512.24 billion, while the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 713.91 points.
The stalemate witnessed yesterday came a day after the market heaved a sigh of relief when it recorded its first growth in five straight sessions.
However, the gains could not be extended on Thursday as investors stayed back to watch the direction the market will swing, resulting in the 87.8 per cent decline in the volume of trades recorded yesterday.
At the close of transactions, investors traded a total of 4,998 units of securities in contrast to the 41,100 units of securities transacted at the midweek session.
Equally, the value of shares exchanged by the market participants depreciated by 84.6 per cent to N662,700 from N4.09 million recorded at the previous session.
Likewise, the total number of deals executed went down by 50 per cent as only two deals were performed at the exchange as against the four deals printed on Wednesday.
These deals were executed on FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc and Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc.
UBN Property Plc topped the activity chart by the volume of trades on a year-to-date level with the sale of 15.5 million units of its shares valued at N16.8 billion. Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc was in second place with 4.7 million units worth N73.2 million, while FrieslandCampina held the third position with 2.3 million units worth N284.8 million.
But for the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, FrieslandCampina was on top on Thursday for transacting 2.3 million units worth N284.8 million. NDEP Plc trailed with 604,249 units valued at N196 million, while CSCS has traded 4.7 million units worth N73.2 million.
Dipo Olowookere