- GSE Turnover Jumps Fivefold To GH¢25.86m as MTN Ghana Dominates September Opening
Trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange opened September with a sharp increase in market activity, as investors exchanged 4.49 million shares valued at GH¢25.86 million on September 1, driven overwhelmingly by transactions in MTN Ghana.
The exchange’s Official List for Trading Session 7287 shows total volume of 4,487,796 shares, with aggregate value traded reaching GH¢25,861,632.01. Ordinary shares accounted for 4,281,620 shares worth GH¢25.76 million, leaving activity in alternative-market securities as only a small proportion of the session.
The performance represented a substantial acceleration from the previous session on August 31, when 1.85 million shares worth GH¢5.14 million changed hands. That means market turnover by value increased more than fivefold in a single trading session, while volume more than doubled.
But the headline increase masks a highly concentrated market. MTN Ghana alone accounted for 3,144,924 shares valued at GH¢21.75 million, equivalent to approximately 84.09% of total market value traded during the session.
The telecommunications company’s share price, however, moved in the opposite direction to its trading activity. MTN Ghana declined by GH¢0.05 from GH¢6.97 to GH¢6.92, representing a fall of approximately 0.72%, despite producing by far the largest turnover of any listed equity.
The scale of MTN Ghana’s transactions meant that the apparent surge in total exchange activity was less broad-based than the overall numbers suggest. Without the telecommunications counter, market turnover would have been closer to GH¢4.12 million, highlighting the degree to which liquidity remained concentrated in one large-cap stock.
Kasapreko PLC was the second-most actively traded counter by value, recording 613,131 shares worth GH¢1.17 million. The stock continued its recent decline, falling by GH¢0.04 from GH¢1.94 to GH¢1.90, equivalent to a loss of approximately 2.06%.
Enterprise Group also attracted considerable investor activity, with 132,146 shares valued at GH¢866,010.32 changing hands. Its share price fell from GH¢6.72 to GH¢6.53, a decline of 2.83%, making it another significant loser in an otherwise active session.
Ecobank Ghana recorded GH¢502,680.44 in turnover from 12,883 shares but closed unchanged at GH¢39.02. GCB Bank similarly held steady at GH¢39.55 after 8,224 shares worth GH¢325,269.20 were traded, while GOIL generated GH¢261,599.30 in turnover and remained unchanged at GH¢7.45.
Price movements across the financial sector were mixed. CAL Bank recovered from the previous session’s decline, gaining GH¢0.03 to close at GH¢0.73, equivalent to an increase of 4.29%, after 188,069 shares valued at GH¢137,663.42 changed hands.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated moved in the opposite direction, falling from GH¢1.86 to GH¢1.79, a decline of approximately 3.76%. Standard Chartered Bank Ghana and First Atlantic Bank were unchanged at GH¢69.89 and GH¢8.40 respectively.
The steepest fall on the main market came from TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana, which declined by GH¢3.70 from GH¢41.50 to GH¢37.80. That represents a drop of approximately 8.92%, although only 2,377 shares worth GH¢94,948.00 were traded.
Dannex Ayrton Starwin also remained under pressure. The pharmaceutical company fell by GH¢0.18 from GH¢1.82 to GH¢1.64, equivalent to a decline of 9.89%, after 20,767 shares valued at GH¢34,134.97 changed hands.
SIC Insurance declined by GH¢0.03 to GH¢5.44, while Trust Bank Gambia provided one of the few positive movements on the main board, rising by GH¢0.02 from GH¢1.20 to GH¢1.22. Fan Milk, Guinness Ghana Breweries, Unilever Ghana and ZEN Petroleum Holdings all finished unchanged.
Trading on the Ghana Alternative Market also produced notable price movements. Digicut Production & Advertising rose from GH¢0.28 to GH¢0.30, a gain of 7.14%, after 117,402 shares worth GH¢35,220.60 were traded.
Intravenous Infusions PLC moved lower, falling by GH¢0.03 from GH¢0.76 to GH¢0.73, while Hords PLC slipped from GH¢0.88 to GH¢0.86. Combined GAX activity remained modest relative to the main market, despite the relatively large volumes recorded in Digicut and Intravenous Infusions.
The September opening therefore presents two contrasting signals for the Ghanaian equities market. Liquidity increased sharply, but the overwhelming contribution from MTN Ghana means the rise in turnover should not automatically be interpreted as a broad market-wide expansion in investor activity.
The price picture was similarly mixed. CAL Bank and Trust Bank Gambia posted gains, but several actively traded equities, including MTN Ghana, Kasapreko, Enterprise Group, ETI and DASPHARMA, closed lower.
That divergence suggests investors were actively repositioning rather than pursuing a broad buying strategy. High turnover accompanied by falling prices in some of the most heavily traded counters can indicate significant selling pressure or portfolio rebalancing rather than uniformly stronger confidence.
For the GSE, the bigger structural question remains market depth. A session in which more than 84.00% of trading value originates from a single company illustrates both MTN Ghana’s importance to the exchange and the continuing challenge of generating deeper liquidity across a broader range of listed securities.
The first session of September nonetheless delivered a substantial increase in activity, with total turnover rising to GH¢25.86 million from GH¢5.14 million a day earlier. Whether that momentum can be sustained will depend on whether trading broadens beyond MTN Ghana and attracts more meaningful participation across banking, consumer, industrial and other large-cap stocks.
