The performance of Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) trading activity declined further at the close of market on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.

According to Wednesday’s market reports, a total of 69,233 shares, corresponding to a market value of GHS 113,280.68, were traded. Compared with the previous GSE trading day (Tuesday, September 28), Wednesday’s data show 81% decline in volume and 77% decline in turnover. However, the total volume of shares traded on Tuesday was 363,858 Shares.

The decline is as a result of major stocks on the local bourse trading flat. In the aggregate, 13 GSE equities participated in trading, ending with only two gainers, namely Fan Milk, with 6.93 percent share price appreciation and Standard Chartered Bank also with 10 percent share price appreciation. However, the 11 equities traded flat. This means that, the opening prices of all the other eleven equities listed were the same as the closing prices.

Market Performance

Some of the top movers in the last session were: Societe Generale Ghana (SOGEGH), MTN Ghana, Cal Bank and Fan Milk Ghana Limited.

Societe Generale Ghana came on top of the volume chart. It recorded the highest volume of 15,360 traded shares. This was followed by MTN Ghana which secured 14,015 total traded shares. CAL Bank also followed in the third position as the total number of shares traded stood at 14,000 share. In addition, Fan Milk also managed to secure 12,000 shares traded before the close of market.

However, the poor performance of these major equities impacted the indices.

Market Indices

Regarding the performance of GSE market indices, the benchmark GSE Composite Index (GSE-CI) inched up Marginally by 25.93 points to close at 2,838.69, representing 0.92 per cent. This also represents a 1-week gain of 0.86 per cent and a 4-week gain of 3.21 per cent and a further overall year-to-date gain of 46.2 per cent.

However, the GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE-FSI) also increased by 2.15 percent to reach 2,052.23 points, making it a 1-week gain of 2.18 per cent and a 4-week gain of 6.38 per cent. It also recorded a year-to-date gain of 15.12 per cent.

The GSE Financial Stocks Index helps investors compare current price levels with past prices of financial stocks to calculate market performance.

In the same vein, the market capitalization also increased its value by GH¢300 million. The current market capitalization of the Ghana Stock Exchange as at last trading session on Wednesday stood at GHc 64 billion. Previously, it stood at GH¢63.7 billion.

Some experts suggest that the current underperformance of some major stocks on the local bourse can be as a result of flight to safety by most investors due to the volatility in the market which can partly be blamed on economic conditions in the country.

However, an improvement in investor confidence alongside a compelling market valuation may drive the demand for stocks across the telecommunication, banking, insurance and oil sectors in the rest of the days of the week.

Meanwhile, other analysts also state that they expect trading activity to pick up in the coming days because demand for bargain stocks has increased.