NDEP Weakens Unlisted Securities Market by 0.18%

By Adedapo Adesanya

Investors returned to the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Wednesday, April 22 after shunning the market on Tuesday.

However, their return to trading on the platform caused the unlisted securities market to fall by 0.18 percent and the main driver for this was the Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc.

Share price of the company shed N5 or 1.67 percent to close the midweek session at N295 per share in contrast to N300 per share the oil and gas investment company’s stocks went for the previous session.

The poor performance of the stock led to the decline in the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI), which shed 1.24 points to close at 700.73 points compared with 701.97 points of the previous day.

Similarly, this led to the reduction in the market capitalisation of the bourse by N900 million to N514.74 billion from N515.64 billion.

Business Post reports that a total of 23,922 units of shares were transacted on Wednesday at the NASD OTC market in four deals.

These trades were from FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc had three deals with 18,902 units and NDEP Plc, which had a single with 5,020 units of its securities traded by market participants.

The transactions around these two companies improved the market’s total transaction value by 101.3 percent to N3.78 million. While FrieslandCampina Plc accounted for N2.31 million of the total value, NDEP Plc contributed N1.48 million.

As at the close of business yesterday, ARM Life Plc remained the most active stock (year-to-date) at the bourse for trading 7.4 billion units of its shares for N4.6 billion. Food Concept Plc was in second place with 110 million units worth N77 million, while Lighthouse Financial Service Plc held the third position with 48 million units valued at N24 million.

As the busiest security in terms of the value traded by investors from the beginning of this year, ARM Life Plc still maintained the top spot with 7.4 billion units exchanged for N4.6 billion. The day’s loser, NDEP Plc, followed with 6.5 million units exchanged for N2.03 billion, while Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc has sold 24.2 million units of its securities valued at N287 million.