By Adedapo Adesanya
The bears tightened their grip on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, plunging the market further by 0.25 per cent.
This was largely caused by the negative price movement in the shares of Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc during the session.
The equity price of the oil and gas investment firm depreciated by N8.66 or 2.6 per cent yesterday to trade at N338.66 per share versus the N330 per share it traded on Thursday.
The poor outing of NDEP caused the market capitalisation of the bourse to drop by N1.32 billion to close at N520.48 billion compared to N521.80 billion it quoted the preceding day.
Also, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went down by 1.84 points to settle at 725.39 points as against 727.23 points it finished at the previous session.
On the activity chart, the volume of trades declined by 89.8 per cent to 112,542 units compared with the 1.1 million units realized previously.
In the same vein, the value of securities transacted by investors dropped on Friday by 94.8 per cent to N6.9 million in contrast to N133.1 million achieved on Thursday.
Similarly, the number deals executed during the session reduced by 10 per cent to nine deals compared to 10 deals of Thursday and these were carried out on NDEP Plc, which accounted for eight deals and Geo Fluids Plc, which made one deal.
During the trading day, the unlisted securities market recorded a price gainer, Geo Fluids, which gained 6 kobo or 8.7 per cent to close at 75 kobo per unit compared to 69 kobo per unit of the preceding day.
UBN Property Plc still held its position as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date), trading 15.1 million units worth N16.3 million. FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc has transacted 1.8 million units valued at N222.2 million, while Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc has exchanged 1.4 million units worth N22.2 million.
However, FrieslandCampina was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) for selling 1.8 million units worth N222.2 million, NDEP has traded 268,497 units worth N93.1 million while CSCS has transacted 1.4 million units for N22.2 million.
Modupe Gbadeyanka