Three Stocks Drag NASD Index into Negative Territory by 0.71%

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange dropped to the negative zone on Wednesday, December 21, as negative price movements from Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dragged the bourse down by 0.71 per cent.

The oil and gas investment company closed the session N4.90 lower to N170.10 per share from N175.00 per share, CSCS Plc recorded a N1.03 slump to trade at N12.47 per unit compared with the previous day’s N13.50 per unit, while FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by 29 Kobo to sell at N66.00 per unit, in contrast to Tuesday’s rate of N66.29 per unit.

The depreciation in these stocks weakened the market capitalisation of the bourse by N6.60 billion to N924.90 billion from the N931.50 billion that it closed in the preceding session.

Following the same trend was the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI), which decreased by 5.03 points to wrap the session at 703.87 points compared with 708.90 points recorded at the previous session.

At the market on Wednesday, the volume of securities traded at the bourse further increased by 7,940.1 per cent as investors transacted 10.8 million units versus Tuesday’s 133,823 units.

The value of shares traded at the midweek session rose by 900.6 per cent to N73.4 million from N7.3 million, while the number of deals rose by 93.8 per cent to 31 deals from 16 deals.

AG Mortgage Bank Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 2.3 billion units worth N1.2 billion, CSCS stood in second place with 688.2 million units worth N14.3 billion, and Lighthouse Financial Services Plc was in third place with 224.7 million units valued at N112.3 million.

The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was still CSCS Plc at the close of transactions yesterday, with 688.2 million units exchanged for N14.3 billion, VFD Group Plc was in second place with 29.1 million units valued at N7.7 billion, and FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc was in third place with 18.4 million units valued at N2.0 billion.