- Ghana Stock Market Trades GH¢76.91 million in Week as GSE-CI Slips 1.12%
Trading activity on the Ghana Stock Exchange accelerated sharply in the week ended August 21, 2026, with total equities turnover rising 145.35% from the previous week to GH¢76.91 million, even as both major market indices closed lower.
The market recorded 17.87 million shares traded, representing a 77.61% increase from 10.06 million shares in the preceding week, while traded value climbed from GH¢31.35 million to GH¢76.91 million. Market capitalisation, however, declined 0.72% to GH¢286.83 billion from GH¢288.90 billion.
The increase in turnover was heavily concentrated in the information and communications technology sector, which accounted for GH¢48.18 million, or 62.64% of total weekly traded value, from 6.87 million shares.
MTN Ghana was by far the most actively traded stock by value, generating GH¢47.58 million in turnover during the week. GCB Bank followed with GH¢14.00 million, while TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana recorded GH¢2.11 million. Kasapreko and Intravenous Infusions completed the top five by value, with GH¢1.70 million and GH¢1.38 million respectively.
The volume ranking showed a similar concentration around MTN Ghana, which recorded 6.78 million shares traded, followed by DIGICUT with 4.21 million shares, Intravenous Infusions with 2.26 million, CAL Bank with 1.02 million and Kasapreko with 864,284 shares.
Despite the stronger trading activity, the market’s headline indices weakened over the five sessions.
The GSE Composite Index fell 1.12% to 15,136.72, while the GSE Financial Stocks Index declined 2.36% to 7,925.05. The GSE-CI nevertheless remained up 72.59% year-to-date, while the financial stocks benchmark had gained 70.53% since the beginning of 2026. Market capitalisation was also still 66.72% higher year-to-date.
That divergence between rising turnover and falling indices is important.
The week was not characterised by weak market participation. Instead, investors traded considerably more shares and committed substantially more capital than during the previous week, while price declines in some influential counters weighed on the indices.
GCB Bank was among the most significant decliners, ending the week at GH¢39.00, down 9.20% from GH¢42.95. Enterprise Group fell more sharply, losing 26.25% to GH¢7.39 from GH¢10.02, while GOIL declined 5.42% to GH¢7.50. Societe Generale Ghana shed 4.44%, while Benso Oil Palm Plantation and CAL Bank each fell 2.56%.
MTN Ghana, despite dominating turnover, ended the week 0.57% lower at GH¢7.00, compared with GH¢7.04 at the previous close. Its year-to-date gain nevertheless remained 66.67%.
At the other end of the market, DASPHARMA delivered the strongest weekly price performance, rising 56.79% from GH¢0.81 to GH¢1.27. The stock has now advanced 234.21% year-to-date, according to the GSE report.
Intravenous Infusions climbed 41.30% during the week to GH¢0.65 and has now risen 1,200.00% since the beginning of the year. DIGICUT gained 38.46% to GH¢0.18, while HORDS rose 26.15% to GH¢0.82 and Cocoa Processing Company advanced 11.11% to GH¢0.20.
Unilever Ghana also posted a double-digit weekly gain, rising 10.00% from GH¢32.00 to GH¢35.20.
The dispersion between these strong individual advances and declines in larger counters demonstrates why the overall market index can weaken even during a week in which several smaller stocks record substantial gains.
Sector activity was similarly concentrated. The ICT sector’s GH¢48.18 million turnover was followed by finance at GH¢17.40 million. Food and beverage stocks generated GH¢2.90 million, distribution GH¢2.41 million, manufacturing GH¢2.16 million and insurance GH¢1.87 million. Exchange-traded funds accounted for GH¢948,361.89, while agriculture generated GH¢249,860.20.
The daily trading chart on page three of the GSE report shows that the strongest session came on August 18, when turnover reached GH¢29.51 million on 4.55 million shares. August 19 followed with GH¢19.60 million on 5.94 million shares, while August 20 generated GH¢12.96 million. Trading moderated to GH¢10.38 million on August 21 after opening the week at GH¢4.45 million.
The week therefore presented two contrasting signals for the Ghanaian equities market. Liquidity and participation strengthened significantly, with both traded value and share volume rising sharply. At the same time, declines in several influential stocks pulled the principal indices lower.
For investors, the broader picture remains substantially stronger than at the start of the year. The GSE-CI’s 72.59% year-to-date gain and the financial stocks index’s 70.53% advance indicate that the market continues to retain a large portion of the appreciation accumulated during 2026.
The immediate question is whether the sharp improvement in turnover can persist and broaden beyond a handful of heavily traded counters.
For the week of August 17 to 21, MTN Ghana alone accounted for almost two-thirds of total traded value. That concentration means the headline surge in market activity was substantial, but not evenly distributed.
If higher turnover begins to spread across sectors and more listed companies, it would provide a stronger indication that the renewed interest in Ghanaian equities is deepening beyond the market’s largest and most liquid stocks.
