The opening day of week didn’t go well for the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) as the local bourse suffered 56 percent decline in total volume of shares traded on the first day of the week, Monday 5th June, 2023.

At the end of the first weekday of trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange, a total of 26,127 shares, corresponding to a market value of GHS 17,394.17, were traded. Compared with the previous GSE trading day (Friday, June 2), Monday’s data showed 56% decline in volume.

SIC Insurance Company Ltd. (SIC) stood out as the most actively traded stock, accounting for 8,938 shares valued at GH¢2,060.06. This volume represented 11.84% of the total value traded, indicating investors’ focus on the company’s stock despite its decline.

Following closely behind was Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI), which traded 7,408 shares valued at GH¢1,111.20, constituting 6.38% of the total value traded. Scancom Plc. (MTNGH) also attracted some attention, with 6,204 shares traded and a value of GH¢6,762.36, accounting for 38.88% of the total value traded. Ghana Oil Company with 2,192 traded shares completed the list of top traders on the day.

In a rather lackluster trading session, there were no gainers to be found among the listed equities on this particular day. SIC Insurance Company Ltd. (SIC) emerged as the sole decliner, experiencing a marginal drop of GH¢0.01 to close at GH¢0.23.

It is worthy noting that SIC began the year with a share price of GHS0.31 but has since lost 25.8% off that price valuation, ranking it 35th on the GSE in terms of year-to-date performance. Shareholders’ worries are compounded by the fact that SIC has lost 8% of the stock’s value from May 8 to date.

SIC Insurance Company is the ninth most traded stock on the Ghana Stock Exchange over the past three months (Mar 2 – Jun 5, 2023). SIC has traded a total volume of 285,734 shares valued at GHS 71,423 over the period, with an average of 4,535 traded shares per session.

The lack of positive movement in the market has contributed to a sense of caution among investors, dampening overall market sentiment.

Benchmark index GSE-Composite Index

The Benchmark index GSE-Composite Index lost 0.19 points, closing at 2,514.99 points. This decline represents a year-to-date (YTD) return of 2.91%, a 1-week gain of 0.75%, a 4-week loss of 7.2%, reflecting the ongoing challenges faced by investors in the Ghanaian market.

Moreover, the GSE Financial Stocks Index also recorded a decline of 0.34 points, ending the trading day at 1,675.78 points, marking a YTD return of -18.36% and further making it a 1-week loss of 0.09%, a 4-week loss of 2.73%.

The decline In the market’s benchmark index and the performance of SIC Insurance Company Ltd. Had a notable impact on the market capitalization, which dropped by GH¢1.96 million, settling at GH¢65.92 billion.