Trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange ended the week on a cautiously optimistic note as bulls edged past bears in a closely fought session that ultimately favoured gains.

Market activity reflected a tense contest between profit taking and renewed investor confidence, but buying pressure proved strong enough to push key indices higher and extend the market’s impressive rally.

In all, 22 listed equities participated in the session, with gainers and losers evenly matched at three apiece. Despite this balance, the strength of price appreciation among select financial and energy stocks helped tilt the overall market in bullish territory, reinforcing the positive momentum that has defined trading in recent weeks.

CalBank Leads Gainers as Financial Stocks Shine

CalBank emerged as the standout performer of the session, recording a 3.17 percent appreciation in its share price to close at GHS 0.65 per share. The stock also dominated trading volumes, with 1.19 million shares changing hands, highlighting strong investor appetite for banking stocks amid expectations of improved earnings and sector resilience.

The positive sentiment was echoed by Ghana Oil Company, which posted a 0.69 percent gain, while GCB Bank added 0.4 percent to its share price. The performance of these stocks underscored the continued strength of financial and energy equities, which have been key drivers of the market’s recent surge.

Investor interest in banking stocks remains particularly strong as the financial sector continues to benefit from balance sheet cleanups, improving macroeconomic conditions and renewed confidence in Ghana’s economic outlook.

Losers Struggle to Drag Market Lower

On the downside, the losses recorded during the session were relatively modest and failed to offset the gains made by leading stocks. NewGold ETF closed as the worst performer, shedding 0.33 percent to end the day at GHS 479.07 per share. The decline reflects mild profit taking rather than a shift in sentiment toward the exchange traded fund.

MTN Ghana also slipped by 0.24 percent, while TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana recorded a 0.12 percent depreciation. Despite the decline, MTN Ghana remained one of the most actively traded stocks, with 80,843 shares exchanged, indicating that investor interest in the telecom giant remains intact.

SIC Insurance Company and NewGold ETF also featured prominently in trading volumes, suggesting that market participants continue to reposition their portfolios amid changing risk appetites.

Indices Extend Gains as Momentum Builds

The benchmark GSE Composite Index inched up by 9.85 points, representing a 0.11 percent gain, to close at 8,755.59 points. While the daily gain appeared modest, it added to a strong run that has seen the index post a one week gain of 0.88 percent and a four week gain of 3.05 percent. Most notably, the index is now up by an impressive 79.1 percent year to date.

The GSE Financial Stocks Index also delivered a solid performance, rising by 0.57 percent to settle at 4,642.58 points. This pushed its one week gain to 2.16 percent and its four week gain to 7.15 percent, while the year to date return climbed to an eye catching 95 percent.

The sustained rally in both indices reflects renewed confidence in listed companies, particularly within the financial sector, as well as improved liquidity conditions and a gradual return of both local and foreign investors.

Turnover Surges Despite Lower Volumes

At the close of the final weekday of trading, a total of 1,391,759 shares were traded on the exchange, corresponding to a market value of GHS 16,516,548.10. Compared with the previous trading session, volumes declined by 8 percent, but turnover surged by a remarkable 169 percent.

The sharp rise in turnover despite lower volumes suggests that higher value stocks dominated trading activity, reinforcing the view that institutional investors were active in the market. This pattern often signals confidence among larger players who tend to focus on fundamentally strong equities.

The Ghana Stock Exchange’s market capitalisation currently stands at GHS 171.9 billion, a reflection of the sustained growth in equity valuations over recent months. The expanding market size highlights the increasing role of the stock exchange in mobilising long term capital and supporting economic growth.

As bulls continue to assert dominance, analysts expect market activity to remain mixed but biased toward gains, particularly if macroeconomic stability holds and corporate earnings continue to improve. While short term corrections remain possible, the broader outlook suggests that the bullish trend on the GSE is far from over.