Trading on the Ghana stock market presented a variant of the scenario observed in recent days with a rather enthusiastic start to the session giving way to stock sales over the course of the day, forcing blue chip stocks to reverse their course and eventually ended on a flat base with no loss or gain.

In the aggregate, an extended number of listed local equities numbering eighteen (18) participated in trading. All the major blue chip stocks that participated in Thursday’s market closed the trading session without a gain or a loss. This means that the stock prices of these equities have neither increased nor decreased.

Some major equities share prices that remained unchanged are as follows: MTN Ghana started and ended the day with a share price of GHS1.40; Produce Buying Company PLC closed at GHS0.02, while Cal bank share price remained at GHS0.51; Total also opened and closed at GHS9.

The rest are: Clydestone Ghana Limited moreover, opened and closed at GH¢0.03; Societe Generale Ghana PLC closed the session at GHS1.57. Tullow Oil Company also did not see any change in share price of GHS11.92. Standard Chartered Bank PLC also opened and closed at GH¢17.55. Benson Oil Palm Plantation also closed at GHS19.33.

While the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) traded flat, trading activity more than doubled at the end of the final trading session of the month on 30th November, 2023.

At the end of Thursday’s trading session on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), a total of 53,193,675 shares, corresponding to a market value of GHS 69,638,816.11, were traded.

MTN and GCB Record Highest Volume of Shares

Despite the flat market performance, the banking sector and telecommunication sector stocks led the market with MTN and GCB Bank PLC recording the highest volume of shares traded.

MTN Ghana recorded the highest volume of 52.7 million traded shares, followed by GCB Bank (462,517), CAL Bank (3,041) and Ghana Oil Company (2,005).

The market capitalization which captures the total market value of all outstanding shares, hence determining the worth of various companies listed on the local bourse also remained unchanged, dancing to the tune of the broader market performance. The market capitalization of the Ghana Stock Exchange stood at GHS 74.2 billion at the close of session.

Analysts hold that the market cap is simple and effective tool for risk assessment and as such can be helpful to investors in determining which stocks to purchase and ways to diversify various portfolio with companies of different size.

Regarding the performance of GSE market indices, the benchmark GSE Composite Index (GSE-CI) did not see any change, closing at the same mark as it opened at 2,463.44 points, representing a 1-week gain of 0.01%, a 4-week gain of 0.13%, but an overall year-to-date loss of 11.68%. The benchmark GSE-Composite index is based on the volume weighted average closing price of all listed stocks.

The Ghana Stock Exchange Financial Stocks Index (GSE-FSI) which constitutes only listed stocks from the financial sector including banking and insurance sector stocks, maintained its value at 1,996.95 points. This represents a 1-week loss of 2.21%, a 4-week gain of 0.33%, and a year-to-date loss of 2.71%.

Analysts predict that there is going to be a further rise in trading activity as the week continues, coupled with an improvement in investor confidence; also, alongside a market valuation which may drive the demand for stocks across the telecommunication, banking, insurance and oil sectors.