The Ghanaian equity market put its internal strength on display yet again on Wednesday, September 15, as it consolidated and ended one more time on a flat note.

The GSE market saw a quiet opening on the expected lines and traded flat in a narrow range in the first half of Wednesday’s trading session. The blue chip stocks stayed range-bound, and showed no directional bias till the market closed.

According to market report, seven GSE equities participated in trading. All the major blue chip stocks that participated in Wednesday’s trading session closed without a gain or a loss.

However, the market displayed some internal strength as the volume traded and value of stocks swelled up considerably.

At the end of Wednesday’s trading session on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), a total of 4,199,897 shares, corresponding to a market value of GHS 5,235,421.92, changed hands. Compared with the previous GSE trading day (Tuesday, September 14), Wednesday’s data show 6 percent improvement in volume and 6 percent improvement in turnover.

However, at the end of Tuesday’s trading session on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), a total of 3,945,672 shares, corresponding to a market value of GHS 4,949,592.06, were traded.

Market Performance

However, despite the major stocks trading flat, the banking sector and telecommunication stocks led the market. Unsurprisingly, MTN Ghana again, recorded the highest volume of shares traded.

MTN Ghana closed the session as a leader with the highest volume of 4.19 million traded shares. This was followed by Total Petroleum Ghana. Total Petroleum Ghana recorded 8,000 traded shares whereas, CAL Bank also recorded 1,500 traded shares. Moreover, Clydestone Ghana also entered the fray for the first time this year in a long absence with 400 traded shares.

Benchmark Composite Indices

With regards to the performance of GSE market indices, the benchmark GSE Composite Index (GSE-CI) did not also see any change, closing at the same mark as it opened at 2,788.57 points. This resulted in a 1-week loss of 0.4 percent. However, on a month on month basis, the composite index recorded a 4-week gain of 1.4 percent, and an overall year-to-date gain of 43.62 percent.

In a similar vein, the GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE-FSI) further maintained its value at 1,980.43 points, making it a 1-week gain of 1.08 percent, a 4-week gain of 3.69 percent, and a year-to-date gain of 11.09 percent.

Furthermore, 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 at GHS 63.5 billion.

Meanwhile, some strategists see the market heading into a volatile period in which there could be a deeper pullback.

However, other analysts also predict that there is going to be a rebound in stock prices as the week draws to a close, coupled with an improvement in investor confidence.

While it may seem like the stock market is going nowhere for days, it may be quietly winding itself up for a big climb.