By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange registered a third consecutive bullish close on Wednesday, with a further increase of 0.47 per cent.
The feat came on the back of gains recorded by the duo of Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc and FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc.
The oil and gas investment company appreciated by N10 or 5.6 per cent to close at N180.00 per unit in contrast to N170.00 per unit it closed at the previous session, while the milk-producing giant rose by N2.73 or 2.1 per cent to trade at N130.47 per share versus N127.74 per share it ended on Tuesday.
This development added N4.48 billion to the market capitalisation of the unlisted securities exchange, which finished the day at N958.65 billion compared with N954.17 billion of the previous trading day.
In the same vein, the NASD unlisted securities index (NSI) moved up by 3.41 points to settle at 729.08 points as against 725.67 points of the earlier trading session.
Despite the impressive outcome of the market yesterday, the trading volume slumped by 27.5 per cent as a total of 480,800 units of securities exchanged hands compared with the 663,049 units transacted at the previous session.
Further, the trading value at the midweek session slid by 15.5 per cent to N38.0 million from the previous day’s N44.9 million as the number of deals decreased by 17.7 per cent to 14 deals from 17 deals.
At the close of business, AG Mortgage Plc was the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with a turnover of 2.3 billion units valued at N1.2 billion, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc stood in second place with 658.9 million units transacted for N13.8 billion, while NASD Plc was in third place with 42.6 million units traded for N456.1 million.
In terms of the most active stock by value (year-to-date), CSCS Plc occupied the top spot with the sale of 658.9 million units worth N13.8 billion, followed by AG Mortgage Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N1.2 billion and NASD Plc with 42.6 million units worth N456.1 million.
Modupe Gbadeyanka