Local Bourse Retreats as MTN Drags Index Lower
The equities market slipped last week, with the benchmark GSE Composite Index falling 2.15 per cent to 7,172.44 points, trimming its year-to-date gains to 46.7 per cent.
Market capitalisation declined to GH¢147.7bn, despite a surge in trading volumes to 17.1m shares worth GH¢67.6m.
MTN Ghana dominated activity, accounting for more than 85 per cent of the total value traded, but its continued price decline to GH¢3.70 weighed heavily on the market.
By contrast, the GSE Financial Stock Index advanced 0.95 per cent to 3,444.30 points, supported by gains in lenders including GCB Bank, which rose 1.01 per cent to GH¢11.02, extending its year-to-date advance to 73 per cent.
Despite the setback, Accra’s bourse remains among Africa’s top performers this year, outpacing peers in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
On the currency front, the cedi weakened further, closing at GH¢11.96 to the dollar, reducing its year-to-date gain to 22.9%.
Losses were broad-based across major currencies, with the pound and euro appreciating 13.7 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively against the local currency.
Meanwhile, gold led weekly gainers, climbing 4.5 per cent to $3,595.04 an ounce, while Brent crude slipped 4.1 per cent to $65.34 a barrel. Cocoa futures tumbled more than 35 per cent year-to-date to $7,053 per metric tonne.
