The Ghana stock market closed Friday July 4 just slightly below the peak to February 21, with the GSE Composite Index up 11.54 percent for the year to date and GSE financial stock index gaining 21.08 percent.
For year to date for the week ending February 21, the GSE Composite Index was up 12.85 percent and the GSE financial stock index gained 21.36 percent. The market had declined after peaking with the Main index falling back to a 4.59 percent gain and 6.32 percent for the GSE financial stock index after the country’s currency fell sharply versus the US dollar and Treasury bill rates climbed to more than 24 percent.
The main market closed at 2352.45 points on Friday 27 of June, closed up by July 4 at 2,392.68. The GSE financial stock index finished 2,163.13 compared to 2,102.52 on June 27.
8 stocks rose for the week and 4 declined, a big improvement over the previous week, when 9 fell to only 4 hat rose. By the end of the week 13 stocks rose in price for the year to date and 14 fell.
HFC Bank, the subject of an offer by Trinidad’s Republic to acquire the majority ownership, had the greatest gain at 51 percent followed by Ecobank Transnational Incorporation, with 47 percent, Ecobank Ghana 31 percent and Total Petroleum 29 percent. The greatest losers were African Champion Industries down 50 percent, Trust Bank down 31 percent, Pz Cussons Ghana 29 percent and Produce Buying Company down 24 percent.
13 stocks down, 5 up on GSE
The number of stocks declining in the market to May 9 increased from 11 the previous week to 13 at the end of the current week but the number advancing climbed from 1 to 5 as trading on the Ghana Stock exchange continued to decline and has almost wiped out the gains enjoyed in the two months to February. 
At the close of the week the market continue to show signs of weakness while the two indices declined with the GSE Composite Index closing at 2247.01 compared with 2,255.20 at the end of the previous week’s trading and the GSE Financial Stocks index that closed at 1,899.49 compared with 1,913.11, leaving the GSE FS index up just 6.3 percent for the year to date.
The level of trading for the week declined to 6,488,878 million shares compared with the previous week at 9.8 million shares.
In trading African Champion Industries fell 33 percent in trading 3,963,100 units on Friday with the price ending at GH¢0.04, Aluworks lost 17 percent to close GH¢0.05, Eco Bank Transnational lost 9 percent to close at GH¢0.20, Sic Insurance Company lost 13 percent to close at GH¢0.35 and Societe Generale Ghana lost 6 percent to close at GH¢0.62 were the stocks that suffered the greatest loss. Tullow Oil Plc closed with a 16 percent gain to end the week at GH¢35.
At the end of the week there was still signs of weakness with only 18 stocks having bids and 27 offers compared to 15 to 29 at the end of the week before.
11 stocks down, 1 up on GSE
Trading on the Ghana Stock exchange for the week ending May 2, continued the decline that has been evident ever since the country’s currency came under added pressure and interest rates were pushed further upwards. In the past week the market reversed the moderate gain experienced in the prior week by shedding the prices of 11 stocks and facilitating only one price gain.
At the close of the week, the market continues to show signs of weakness while the two indices declined with the GSE Composite Index closing at 2,255.20 compared with 2,276.12 at the end of the previous week’s trading. The GSE Financial Stocks index closed at 1,913.11 compared with 1,934.75 on the April 17, leaving the index up 7 percent for the year to date.
The level of trading for the week picked strongly from the 1.5 million shares traded for the previous week, as 9.8 million shares changed hands for the holiday shortened week. Cal Bank accounted for 7,119,700 shares on Tuesday, and on Wednesday 2,186,100 shares of the total traded, while losing 14 percent of its value by week end, to end at GH¢2.50. Except for these two trades, the volume of stocks traded was very low.
Sic Insurance Company lost 5 percent to close at GH¢0.40 and Societe Generale Ghana lost 6 percent to close at GH¢0.66 were the stocks that suffered the greatest loss. At the end of the week there was still signs of weakness with only 15 stocks having bids and 29 offers compared to 18 to 29 at the end of the week before.
New listing on GSE as prices gain
The week ending April 25 saw one new entrant to the list of companies as Mega African Capital (MAC) a long-term private investment company became the newest listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange having listed on April 24.
MAC traded 5,500 shares at GH¢3.50 having opened at GH¢3.10 for a gain of GH¢0.40. The company objective is to target high net-worth investors looking for African opportunities to generate high real returns. The total number of shares issued by the company is 8,641,469 units.
At the close of the week, the market continues to show signs of weakness but it managed to slow the decline somewhat, with 6 stocks advancing, to 4 that declined while the two indices gained moderately, with the GSE Composite Index closing at 2,276.12 compared with 2,272.40, at the end of the previous week’s trading. The GSE Financial Stocks index that closed at 1,934.75 on the final trading day of the previous week, closed higher with 5 of the 6 stocks advancing and only one of the declining stocks were from the financial sector.
The level of trading for the week was poor, with only 1.5 million shares trading, of which 1.1 million traded on Friday, Societe Generale Ghana traded 1 million units on that day.
