The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has recorded a massive improvement in its volume and value in Tuesday’s trading session despite MTN Ghana losing.

There was a marked increase in market activity, with the volume of shares traded rising by 940.07% and value traded increasing by 12,116.05 percent.

In all, a total of 4,273,962 shares were traded across twenty equities, valued at GH¢5,238,275.91. In the aggregate, 21 GSE listed equities participated in Tuesday’s trading session.

Scancom PLC (MTNGH) emerged as the most actively traded stock, trading 4,108,756 shares valued at GH¢5,135,962, accounting for 98.05% of the total value traded. Following closely behind was Cal Bank PLC (CAL), trading 91,829 shares valued at GH¢45,915, representing 0.88% of the total value traded. Fan Milk (31,231) and Ecobank Transnational (23,699) followed in that order.

However, MTN began the year with a share price of GHS0.88 and has since gained 42.1% on that price valuation, ranking it third on the GSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

MTN Ghana remained the number one most traded stock on the Ghana Stock Exchange over the past three months (Jan 27 – May 2, 2023). MTNGH has traded a total volume of 179 million shares valued at GHS 166 million over the period, with an average of 2.84 million traded shares per session. A volume high of 160 million was achieved on March 24 for the same period.

Decline in Benchmark Index

The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) experienced a decline in its benchmark index, the GSE-Composite Index, which fell by 11.78 points to close at 2,729.68 points, representing a year-to-date change of 11.69%.

In contrast, the GSE Financial Stocks Index remained unchanged, indicating a year-to-date return of -14.34 percent.

This underperformance of the market could be attributed to the absence of gainers on the day, as none of the stocks traded recorded any price appreciation. Notably, Scancom PLC (MTNGH) lost GH¢0.01, closing at GH¢1.25. The rest remained unchanged. This outcome resulted in a decrease in the market capitalization of the Accra bourse by GH¢122.90 million, closing at GH¢68.16 billion.

The poor performance of the GSE on the trading day may be attributed to the lack of positive sentiment in the market, which could be linked to several factors. For instance, the recent announcement of new fiscal policies by the government, particularly with regards to taxes, may have dampened investor confidence and led to a decline in the demand for equities.

Looking ahead, it remains to be seen whether the GSE will experience a reversal of fortunes, with the potential for a resurgence of investor sentiment and market activity.