GSE: Ghana continues bullish move

Friday, 10th January 2014 | The year may have changed but that is not yet visible in the movement of stock prices on the Ghana Stock exchange.

The GSE Composite Index closed the week at 2,184.82 up from 2,152.54 at the end of the prior week for a gain of 32.28 points and the financial index closed at 1,844.44, up by 43.02 points from 1,801.42, a 3.5 percent gain so far for 2014.

Advancing stocks overwhelmed declining ones during the week by a 2:1 ratio with 8 gaining and 4 falling in price, representing an improvement over last week’s performance of 6 advancing to 3 declining.

Trading for the week accounted for 2,597,827 units up from 1,488,967 units last week. At the end of the week, there were 19 bids, up from 17 the week before, and offers climbed to 26 from 19. The absence of bids for half of the market is an indication of weakness. While the number of bids have grown over the last four weeks, it shows that only a fraction of the market is performing and that is mainly the financials. Additionally, several of the companies listed have not traded for more than six months and the absence of bids suggests that had these stocks been more liquid, the main market index may not have grown as much as it did in 2013.

Advancing stocks | Ayrton Drugs Manufacturing gained 6 percent in trading for the week; Ecobank Transnational Incorporation gained 20 percent during the week and is up 26 percent for the year to date; Starwin Products was up 33 percent but is flat for the year to date.

Declining stocks | Produce Buying Company lost 6 percent; UT Bank lost 2 percent.