- GSE Ends Week Higher Despite Steep Decline in Liquidity and Investor Activity
Trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange slowed dramatically on October 16, but the retreat in activity concealed a firmer underlying market as MTN Ghana, GOIL and four other equities closed higher. The session produced a sharp reversal from the previous day’s exceptional turnover, highlighting how the exchange’s headline liquidity continues to depend on occasional large transactions in a small number of dominant stocks.
Total market volume fell to 724,606 shares from 6.87 million shares on October 15, a contraction of 89.45 per cent. The value of securities traded dropped even more steeply, declining by 93.87 per cent from GH¢43.87 million to GH¢2.69 million.
The collapse was less a sign of broad investor withdrawal than the disappearance of the unusually large MTN Ghana trade that had transformed Thursday’s session. MTN accounted for 6.34 million shares worth GH¢41.28 million on October 15. A day later, the telecommunications company traded 186,044 shares valued at GH¢1.25 million.
MTN still dominated Friday’s market, supplying 46.58 per cent of total value, but its turnover was 96.97 per cent lower than the previous session. This concentration means daily comparisons can appear extreme even when trading in most other equities changes more modestly.
The company’s share price recovered to GH¢6.73 after falling to GH¢6.51 on Thursday. The GH¢0.22 increase represented a 3.38 per cent gain and recovered most of the previous session’s GH¢0.27 loss. Closing demand was visible at GH¢6.74, slightly above the traded closing price, while the best offer stood at GH¢6.75.
That narrow bid-offer spread suggests buyers remained engaged after the rebound. Yet MTN’s movements also demonstrate its disproportionate influence on the wider market. A price change in the exchange’s most liquid counter can materially affect the composite index, even when most listed companies record no movement or attract little trading.
GOIL delivered the strongest gain among ordinary equities, rising GH¢0.50, or 9.09 per cent, to GH¢6.00. Only 7,210 shares changed hands, however, placing the advance on relatively modest liquidity. The closing order book showed a bid of GH¢5.50 and an offer of GH¢6.00, indicating a wide gap between prospective buyers and sellers.
Cocoa Processing Company gained 9.38 per cent to GH¢0.35, establishing a new year high, although its turnover was only 2,124 shares worth GH¢743.40. Republic Bank Ghana advanced 2.25 per cent to GH¢4.09, Access Bank rose 0.19 per cent to GH¢20.79 and Enterprise Group edged 0.12 per cent higher to GH¢8.70.
The six gainers outnumbered four declining stocks, producing healthier market breadth than the turnover figures alone would imply. No price movement occurred in 22 ordinary equities, including GCB Bank, Ecobank Ghana, CAL Bank, Standard Chartered, Fan Milk and Unilever Ghana.
GCB was the second-largest contributor to market value, generating GH¢507,261 from 12,618 shares at an unchanged GH¢40.20. Its trades accounted for 18.87 per cent of the session’s total value. Together, MTN and GCB supplied approximately 65.45 per cent of market turnover, reinforcing the exchange’s dependence on a limited group of liquid, high-value counters.
On the losing side, TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana recorded the largest absolute price decline, falling GH¢1.00, or 2.38 per cent, to GH¢41.00. The stock had closed unchanged at its GH¢42.00 year high during the previous session. Its October 16 turnover amounted to 2,519 shares worth GH¢103,309.
Kasapreko slipped GH¢0.02 to GH¢1.89 after gaining GH¢0.07 a day earlier. The beverage producer traded 59,775 shares valued at GH¢112,795. Its movement illustrates the short-term price adjustments occurring around recently active counters, with investors testing valuations following earlier gains.
Trading on the Ghana Alternative Market became more important as main-market activity receded. Intravenous Infusions led GAX volume with 127,418 shares, but declined GH¢0.02 to GH¢0.61. Digicut fell GH¢0.04, or 8.16 per cent, to GH¢0.45, while Hords remained unchanged at GH¢0.82.
Combined GAX volume rose to 187,279 shares from 46,433 shares on October 15, an increase of more than 303 per cent. Its traded value climbed from approximately GH¢27,517 to GH¢107,089. Although still small in absolute terms, the expansion partly offset the collapse in main-market activity and demonstrated that liquidity was not retreating uniformly across the exchange.
Ordinary-share turnover fell to 537,323 shares worth GH¢2.58 million, compared with 6.82 million shares valued at GH¢43.84 million a day earlier. NewGold added only four units worth GH¢1,849, while no trades were recorded in AngloGold Ashanti Depositary Shares or Standard Chartered preference shares.
The session also exposed the persistent illiquidity across many listed companies. Several equities recorded either no transactions or negligible volumes, despite visible bids or offers. Agricultural Development Bank traded no shares, while Standard Chartered recorded a single share and Asante Gold Corporation traded one share.
Such thin activity complicates price discovery because quoted prices may not reflect sufficient interaction between buyers and sellers. It also makes percentage movements potentially misleading: a small transaction can produce a large price change, while an inactive stock may retain an outdated valuation for several sessions.
Friday’s outcome should therefore be read as a normalisation after an exceptional block-trading session, rather than evidence that investor confidence suddenly disappeared. Market breadth improved, MTN recovered and GOIL posted a strong advance, but overall liquidity returned to a level that exposed the market’s structural concentration.
The immediate outlook will depend on whether buying interest in MTN, GOIL and financial stocks carries into the next session. Investors will also watch whether GAX’s rise in activity can be sustained rather than remaining a one-day rotation.
For the broader market, the central challenge remains turning isolated bursts of turnover into consistent liquidity across more securities. Ghana’s equities market ended the week firmer, but still searching for the breadth and regular participation required to make its strong price performance more durable.
