Unlisted Stock Exchange Remains in Danger Zone After 0.04% Fall

By Adedapo Adesanya

The unlisted stock exchange in Nigeria extended its stay in the danger zone on Tuesday by 0.04 per cent as investors await a positive trigger to boost their confidence in the market.

According to data obtained from the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, the loss recorded during the session was spurred by the profit-taking in FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc.

The stock depreciated by 21 Kobo yesterday to settle at N66.00 per unit, in contrast to the N66.21 per unit it was sold in the preceding session.

FrieslandCampina has come under pressure lately as its equities were sold for as high as N200 per unit on April 14, 2022, but market headwinds and weak investor sentiment had dropped the prices by 203 per cent in the last eight months.

Its performance yesterday slashed the market capitalisation of the bourse by N410 million to N932.37 billion from N932.78 billion and reduced the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) by 0.31 points to 709.56 points from the preceding day’s 709.87 points.

A look at the activity chart revealed that investors seem to have shunned the market as only 58,627 units of securities were traded on Tuesday, 23.7 per cent lower than the 76,870 units of securities traded in the preceding session.

Also, the value of shares traded by market participants depreciated by 26.2 per cent to N3.2 million from the N3.9 million posted on Monday, while the number of trades declined by 63.6 per cent to four deals from Monday’s 11 deals.

AG Mortgage Bank Plc remained the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 2.3 billion units worth N1.2 billion, trailed by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 688.1 million units valued at N14.3 billion, and Lighthouse Financial Services Plc with 224.7 million units valued at N112.3 million.

The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis remained CSCS Plc with 688.1 million units worth N14.3 billion, followed by VFD Group Plc with 29.1 million units valued at N7.7 billion, and FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc with 17.8 million units worth N1.9 billion.