NASD OTC Market Advances by 0.41% as Friesland, NDEP Gain

By Adedapo Adesanya

FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc and Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) extended the presence of the bull on the floor of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Wednesday, May 25.

The NASD OTC market rallied by 0.41 per cent during the session and stretched the market capitalisation of the exchange by N4.27 billion to N1.04 trillion from N1.03 trillion as the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) appreciated by 3.26 points to end the day at 795.06 points as against the 791.80 points it recorded in the previous session.

Friesland Plc gained N2.03 or 1.9 per cent to close at N110.00 per unit against N107.97 per unit of the preceding session, while NDEP Plc improved by N1.67 or 0.7 per cent to sell at N226.67 per share compared to N225.00 per share in the previous session.

The volume of securities traded at the bourse by investors yesterday surged by 3,972.6 per cent to 4.0 million units from the 98,607 units transacted by market participants on Tuesday just as the value of shares traded rose by 22.6 per cent to N12.2 million from the N9.9 million made a day earlier.

However, the number of deals carried out during the session depreciated by 16.7 per cent to 10 deals from the 12 deals executed on Tuesday.

At the close of business, AG Mortgage Bank Plc maintained its position as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 2.3 billion units valued at N1.2 billion, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc stood in second place with the sale of 662.2 million units worth N13.9 billion, while Food Concepts Plc was in third place with the sale of 138.0 million units valued at N118.7 million.

In the same vein, CSCS Plc kept its place as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 662.2 million units worth N13.9 billion, VFD Group Plc was in second place with 9.4 million units traded for N2.9 billion while AG Mortgage Plc occupied the third place for exchanging 2.3 billion units valued at N1.2 billion.