The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in its monthly report said its January 2023 performance reflected investor sentiments in the general macro-economic environment and the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.

According to the GSE summary of January 2023 Market Activities, the GSE noted that thin trading resulted in a dip in the number of transactions to 1,249, a decline of 16.12 percent compared to the same period in 2022.

On the equities market, the GSE Composite and Financial Stock Indices recorded negative returns of 3.68 percent and 0.81 percent respectively.

The top price gainers during the month under review were Benso Oil Palm (15.03%), NewGold ETF (11.66%) and Total Energies (1.50%).

Benso Oil Palm Plantation Limited (BOPP) closed January 2023 at GHS8.80 per share on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Benso Oil Palm Plantation began the year with a share price of GHS7.65 and has since gained 15.03 percent on that price valuation, ranking it first on the GSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

Benso Oil Palm Plantation Limited operates in the Consumer Goods sector. Benso Oil Palm Plantation Limited, issuers of the BOPP stock on the Ghana Stock Exchange, have seven market competitors who are also engaged in the Consumer Goods sector; however, performed better than its competitors in January 2023.

Benso Oil Palm Plantation Limited is currently the 19th most valuable stock on the GSE with a market capitalization of GHS 306 million, which is about 0.482% of the Ghana Stock Exchange equity market.

Another gainer in January according to the GSE report is NewGold ETF. NewGold ETF (GLD) began the year with a share price of GHS217.80 and has since gained 11.7 percent on that price valuation, ranking it second on the GSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

NewGold ETF is the third most traded stock on the Ghana Stock Exchange over the past three months. GLD has traded a total volume of 892,912 shares valued at GHS 172 million over the period, with an average of 14,173 traded shares per session. A volume high of 545,125 was achieved on December 13, 2022 for the same period.

NewGold Issuer (RF) Limited operates in the Financials sector, specifically, the Investment Services industry. NewGold ETF is currently the 11th most valuable stock on the GSE with a market capitalization of GHS 705 million, which makes about 1.11% of the Ghana Stock Exchange equity market.

TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana Plc (TOTAL) completed the list of January gainers. TOTAL ended its January trading month (Monday, January 30, 2023) at GHS4.06 per share on the Ghana Stock Exchange, recording a 1.2% gain over its previous closing price of GHS4.01. TotalEnergies began the year with a share price of GHS4.00 and has since gained a total of 1.5% on that price valuation in January, ranking it third on the GSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana is the seventh most traded stock on the Ghana Stock Exchange over the past three months (Nov 2, 2022 – Feb 3, 2023). TOTAL has traded a total volume of 416,813 shares valued at GHS 1.67 million over the period, with an average of 6,616 traded shares per session. A volume high of 229,575 was achieved on December 23, for the same period.

Fixed Income Market

On the fixed income market, the total value traded was GH¢10.09 billion, a decline from the GH¢11.40 billion traded in the previous month.

The number of trades during the month was 51, 273 which was 5.05% more than the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the GSE Composite Index for the month of January suffered a decline of 3.68 percent, compared to the decline of 0.81 percent recorded same period last year. Moreover, the value traded also declined heavily in January 2023.

The total value of shares traded in January 2023 amounted to GH¢6.67 billion, compared to the GH¢28.28 billion recorded during same period last year, 2022.

The market capitalization In January 2023 stood at GH¢63.70 billion, which is a decline from the previous year’s capitalization which stood at GH¢64.49billion