Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The market capitalisation of the unlisted securities market in Nigeria appreciated by 1.65 per cent or N8.78 billion at the close of trading on Monday to N542.11 billion from N533.33 billion it finished last Friday.
The expansion in the total value of stocks admitted on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was mainly driven by the positive price movement in the shares of Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc.
The equity price of the company gained N15.03 or 4.85 per cent to close the session at N325.15 per share in contrast to N310.12 per share it traded at the previous session.
This only improved the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) by 0.45 per cent or 3.29 points to close the day at 729.33 points compared with 726.04 points of the previous session.
During the session, a total of 7.0 million units of shares were transacted by investors in contrast to 5.0 million units traded last Friday, indicating a 39.3 per cent improvement in the trading volume.
These trades were executed in seven deals, a deal or 12.50 per cent lower than the eight deals transacted at the previous trading day.
Monday’s deals were carried out on NDEP Plc (two deals), FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc (two deals), Food Concepts Plc (two deals), and First Trust Merchant Bank Plc (one deal).
Business Post reports that the total value of these trades on Monday stood at N13.8 million compared with N6.9 million of last Friday, indicating a 97.9 per cent rise.
The market witnessed a price loser yesterday and it was First Trust Merchant Bank, which went down by 6 kobo or 9.52 per cent to settle at 57 kobo per unit as against 63 kobo it traded previously.
As usual, ARM Life Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) for trading 7.4 billion units of its shares for N4.6 billion. Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc trailed for transacting 203.5 million units worth N2.7 billion, while Food Concepts Plc has exchanged 140.1 million units worth N99.8 million.
The underwriter was also the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) for selling 7.4 billion shares valued at N4.6 billion. NDEP Plc has traded 10.9 million units worth N3.4 billion, while CSCS Plc has traded 203.5 million units valued at N2.7 billion.
