- GSE Gains 1.33% Despite Weak Financial Stocks and Lower Turnover
The Ghana Stock Exchange advanced during the week ended October 2, but the headline gain concealed a more complicated market marked by falling turnover, weakness in financial stocks and an unusually high concentration of investor activity in MTN Ghana.
The benchmark GSE Composite Index increased 1.33 per cent to 14,071.44 points, lifting its year-to-date return to 60.45 per cent. Market capitalisation rose 0.16 per cent to GH¢266.70bn from GH¢266.27bn in the previous week.
The rise was principally supported by Scancom Plc, trading as MTN Ghana, whose shares gained 4.5 per cent from GH¢6.22 to GH¢6.50.
However, the GSE Financial Stocks Index fell 1.44 per cent to 7,453.25 points, even though it remained 60.38 per cent higher since the beginning of the year.
The divergence between the two indices reflects a market in which strength in a large telecommunications stock was sufficient to lift the broad index, while several financial counters came under selling pressure.
Total trading volume declined 26.25 per cent to 18.83mn shares, compared with 25.53mn shares in the preceding week. The value of transactions fell more sharply, dropping 28.25 per cent to GH¢104.63mn from GH¢145.82mn.
The simultaneous increase in the Composite Index and decline in turnover suggests that the market’s advance was driven more by price movements in a small number of influential stocks than by a broad increase in investor participation.
The information and communications technology sector accounted for 14.57mn shares and GH¢94.67mn in value, representing 77.4 per cent of total market volume and 90.48 per cent of the value traded.
MTN Ghana alone generated GH¢94.47mn in transactions, equivalent to just over 90 per cent of the entire market’s weekly turnover. Its 14.52mn shares traded represented more than three-quarters of all shares that changed hands.
That level of concentration means the market’s aggregate liquidity figures were overwhelmingly shaped by one company.
Without MTN Ghana, the rest of the exchange generated only about GH¢10.16mn in trading value during the week. This points to a continuing structural weakness in the market: strong headline turnover can coexist with relatively thin liquidity across most listed companies.
The concentration may partly reflect renewed investor interest in MTN following the company’s notification of a US$202mn spectrum award covering the 700MHz and 3GHz frequency bands.
The additional spectrum is expected to strengthen MTN’s network capacity and support its expansion in 5G mobility and home broadband. Investors may be assessing the long-term revenue opportunities against the immediate cost of the licences and the additional infrastructure expenditure required for deployment.
MTN’s share price ended the week 54.76 per cent higher for the year, reinforcing its importance to the overall performance of the exchange.
The banking and broader financial sector recorded GH¢5.04mn in transactions, while insurance stocks generated GH¢1.41mn. Distribution counters accounted for GH¢1.34mn, followed by food and beverages at GH¢1.27mn.
The five most actively traded equities by value MTN Ghana, GCB Bank, CalBank, Enterprise Group and Kasapreko collectively accounted for about GH¢99.5mn. That was approximately 95 per cent of total equity turnover, leaving a relatively small pool of activity for the remaining listed companies.
Hords led the week’s gainers, rising 18.03 per cent from GH¢0.61 to GH¢0.72. The company’s shares have increased 620 per cent since the start of the year.
Digicut Production and Advertising followed with a 15.91 per cent gain to GH¢0.51, placing its year-to-date appreciation at 466.67 per cent.
Cocoa Processing Company advanced 15.38 per cent to GH¢0.30, while AngloGold Ashanti Depositary Shares rose 9.52 per cent to GH¢0.46. Enterprise Group gained 5 per cent to GH¢7.35.
Kasapreko increased 2.79 per cent to GH¢1.84, completing the list of advancing stocks alongside MTN Ghana.
Although the steep percentage gains in Hords, Digicut and Cocoa Processing Company appear impressive, they must be interpreted against their relatively low share prices and thinner trading volumes. Small absolute price changes can translate into large percentage movements, particularly in less liquid counters.
The market’s average price movement was a positive 1.38 per cent, but breadth was tilted towards the negative side. Seven stocks gained while 11 declined, indicating that the Composite Index’s advance was not shared evenly across the market.
Societe Generale Ghana was the week’s worst performer, declining 7.27 per cent from GH¢5.50 to GH¢5.10.
GOIL fell 7.21 per cent to GH¢5.66, while SIC Insurance declined 7.2 per cent to GH¢4.64. TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana lost 6.56 per cent to close at GH¢35.32, extending its year-to-date decline to 12.25 per cent.
Dannex Ayrton Starwin dropped 5.88 per cent to GH¢1.12, while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated fell 5.33 per cent to GH¢1.60.
Republic Bank Ghana, CalBank and GCB Bank also recorded losses, contributing to the decline in the Financial Stocks Index.
The weakness in the petroleum marketing stocks is notable at a time when Ghana faces higher international oil prices, cedi depreciation and uncertainty over domestic fuel-pricing interventions.
Higher pump prices may raise nominal revenue for distributors, but they can also weaken consumption, increase working-capital requirements and expose companies to policy risks arising from subsidies, levies or delayed price adjustments.
Daily trading activity was highly uneven. Transactions peaked at GH¢50.97mn on September 29, accounting for nearly half of the week’s value. September 30 followed with GH¢25.33mn, while turnover fell to GH¢18.81mn on October 1.
The first and final sessions were considerably quieter, recording GH¢5.13mn and GH¢4.40mn, respectively.
This volatility underscores the influence of large block transactions. One or two significant trades can transform weekly turnover without necessarily signalling a sustained increase in demand from a broader group of investors.
The outlook for the market remains positive but increasingly selective. The GSE Composite Index’s 60.45 per cent year-to-date return is exceptionally strong, while the market’s capitalisation has increased 55.02 per cent.
Yet the decline in weekly turnover, negative market breadth and dependence on a small number of counters suggest that investors are becoming more discriminating after the sharp rally.
The next phase of the market’s performance will depend on whether demand broadens beyond MTN Ghana and a handful of highly traded companies. Corporate earnings, dividend expectations, interest-rate movements and the stability of the cedi will remain central to asset-allocation decisions.
For now, the GSE continues to rise, but the week’s figures offer an important qualification: the index is strong, while the underlying market remains narrow.
Source: Ghana Stock Exchange Weekly Equities Market Report. Weekly Equities Market Report September 28 to October 2, 2026.pdf
