Unlisted Securities Shed 0.56% to Extend Stay in Danger Zone

By Adedapo Adesanya

For another trading session, the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange remained in the danger zone after further losing 0.56 per cent on Tuesday.

It was the first trading day in the month of March 2022 and due to the decline in the prices of three stocks, the unlisted securities market closed lower.

Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc recorded a fall of N16.10 or 8.5 per cent to close at N190.00 per share in contrast to N206.10 per share it closed on Monday, NASD Plc depreciated by 19 kobo or 2.3 per cent to settle at N8.31 per share as against the previous closing price of N8.50 per share, while Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc declined by 9 kobo or 0.5 per cent to trade at N18.13 per unit in contrast to the preceding value of N18.04 per unit.

The depreciation in these stocks squeezed N3.46 billion from the market capitalisation of the bourse to N614.63 billion from N618.09 billion and depleted the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) by 4.08 points to 725.85 points from 729.93 points.

During the session, there was a 1,322.6 per cent surge in the volume of securities traded by investors as 1.7 million shares were traded compared with the previous day’s 117,850 shares.

Also, the value of stocks transacted by market participants increased by 618 per cent to N13.9 million from the N1.9 million published on Monday, while the number of deals increased by 85.7 per cent to 13 deals as against the seven deals recorded a day earlier.

At the close of business, CSCS Plc remained as the most traded security by volume (year-to-date) with the sale of 656.6 million units valued at N13.8 billion, trailed by NASD Plc with the sale of 21.9 million units worth N215.7 million, and Food Concepts Plc with the sale of 5.0 million units valued at N4.1 million.

The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was still CSCS Plc with a turnover of 656.6 million units worth N13.8 billion, trailed by VFD Group Plc with 916,161 units worth N331.5 million, and FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc with 2.1 million units valued at N258.0 million.