It was a bloody day for the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) as bears resurfaced on the domestic bourse on Wednesday, 17th May, 2023 with major ripples in the bourse’s still waters.

This was largely triggered by sell-offs in bellwethers which dragged the overall market performance on Wednesday into the red territory.

In total, 16 GSE listed equities participated in trading, ending with disappointingly three losers. NewGold ETF lost the most value on the day with 15.01% share price depreciation, followed by Standard Chartered Bank (-9.93%) and MTN Ghana (-9.52%).

NewGold ETF (GLD) closed its trading day (Wednesday, May 17, 2023) at GHS193.45 per share on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), recording a GHS34.17 drop from its previous closing price of GHS227.62.

Meanwhile, NewGold ETF began the year with a share price of 217.80 GHS but has since lost 11.2% off that price valuation, ranking it 29th on the GSE in terms of year-to-date performance. Shareholders’ worries are compounded by the fact that GLD has lost 12% of the stock’s value from April 17 to date.

Standard Chartered Bank (Ghana) also closed its trading day at GHS12.52 per share on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE),local bourse, recording a 9.9%GHS1.3 drop from its previous closing price of 13GHS13.90 GHS.

The final loser on the day was MTNGH which closed its trading day at GHS1.14 per share on the Ghana Stock Exchange, recording a 12 pesewa drop from its previous closing price of GHS1.26.

Benchmark GSE-Composite Index

Meanwhile, the resurfacing of the bears has affected the market indices. The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) witnessed a decline in its benchmark GSE-Composite Index, closing at 2,563.65 points, representing a 4.90% Year-to-Date (YTD) return.

Moreover, the bearish sentiment sent shockwaves throughout the market, exacerbating concerns over the state of Ghana’s financial landscape. Similarly, the GSE Financial Stocks Index experienced a dip of 32.27 points, closing at 1,688.00 points, resulting in a YTD return of -17.76%.

The bearish sentiment again, cut through the market like a dagger, leading to a decline in the overall market capitalization, which ended the day at GH¢66.35 billion, reflecting a reduction of GH¢1,759.92 million. This decrease underscores the fragility of the market and the potential impact on investor sentiment and overall economic stability.

That notwithstanding, the market activity, had a different plan amid the bearish movement sweeping across the entire market. The market activity increased by an impressive 38.31%, indicating heightened participation and interest from market participants.

Moreover, the value traded skyrocketed by a staggering 2551.67%, illustrating the magnitude of the market’s movements during the trading session. A total of 3,262,951 shares were traded across the equities, amounting to GH¢62,762,625.19 in value.

MTNGH led the chart of top movers, topping the trading chart with 2,939,658 shares valued at GH¢3,354,644.02. This represented 5.34% of the total value traded, emphasizing the significant role played by the telecommunications sector in driving market activity.

Moreover, NewGold (GLD) also traded 306,976 shares valued at GH¢59,385,618.70, accounting for a substantial 94.62% of the total value traded. The rest are Ecobank Transnational (7,307) and Societe Generale Ghana (4,553).