- MTN Ghana and Kasapreko Account For 85% of Weekly GSE Turnover
Ghanaian equities extended their strong 2026 performance in the week ending October 16, but a sharp decline in turnover and heavy concentration in two stocks exposed the liquidity weakness beneath the market’s rising headline indices.
The Ghana Stock Exchange Composite Index advanced 2.43 per cent to 14,394.77 points, lifting its year-to-date return to 64.13 per cent. The Financial Stocks Index increased 1.11 per cent to 7,498.54 points and was up 61.36 per cent since the beginning of the year.
Market capitalisation rose 1.79 per cent from GH¢266.50 billion to GH¢271.26 billion, representing an increase of approximately GH¢4.76 billion in one week. Its year-to-date gain reached 57.67 per cent.
These figures show that investor wealth, as measured by quoted market values, continued to expand. Yet trading activity moved sharply in the opposite direction. Total volume declined 32.09 per cent to 16.85 million shares from 24.81 million shares in the preceding week.
The contraction was more pronounced in value terms. Turnover fell 52.63 per cent from GH¢141.88 million to GH¢67.21 million, meaning the exchange added billions of cedis in market capitalisation during a week when the amount of money changing hands dropped by more than half.
That divergence requires careful interpretation. Rising indices indicate that selected stocks attracted sufficiently strong bids to close at higher prices, but falling turnover suggests the rally was not accompanied by a comparable expansion in market-wide liquidity.
A market can appreciate on relatively modest trading when available supply is limited, particularly in counters with concentrated ownership or shallow order books. Such price gains remain meaningful, but they may not offer the same evidence of broad investor conviction as an advance supported by rising turnover and participation across numerous stocks.
The week’s market breadth was nevertheless positive. Eleven equities recorded gains, compared with five decliners, while the average price change across moving counters was 1.71 per cent.
Cocoa Processing Company led the gainers, rising 16.67 per cent from GH¢0.30 to GH¢0.35. The advance pushed CPC’s year-to-date appreciation to 483.33 per cent, although the magnitude of that return partly reflects the company’s low starting price.
Enterprise Group gained 12.99 per cent to GH¢8.70, extending its 2026 return to 146.46 per cent. Intravenous Infusions advanced 10.91 per cent from GH¢0.55 to GH¢0.61 and remained the strongest performer among the week’s movers on a year-to-date basis, with a 1,120 per cent increase.
TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana climbed 6.49 per cent to GH¢41.00, while First Atlantic Bank gained 5 per cent to GH¢8.40. MTN Ghana added 4.34 per cent to GH¢6.73, strengthening the Composite Index because of its size and market influence.
Ecobank Ghana increased 2.56 per cent to GH¢40.00, Republic Bank Ghana gained 2.25 per cent to GH¢4.09 and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated edged 0.65 per cent higher to GH¢1.55.
Access Bank Ghana rose 0.58 per cent to GH¢20.79, while GCB Bank recorded a marginal 0.05 per cent gain to GH¢40.20.
The losses were concentrated in five counters. Digicut Production and Advertising recorded the steepest decline, falling 19.64 per cent from GH¢0.56 to GH¢0.45. Despite that weekly correction, the stock remained 400 per cent higher for the year.
Benso Oil Palm Plantation declined 6.67 per cent to GH¢70.00, Dannex Ayrton Starwin Pharma fell 4.90 per cent to GH¢0.97 and SIC Insurance lost 2.34 per cent to close at GH¢5.01. Kasapreko declined 1.56 per cent to GH¢1.89.
The week’s trading pattern was dominated by information and communications technology, reflecting MTN Ghana’s commanding role. The ICT sector accounted for 7.01 million shares and GH¢45.70 million in value, representing 41.58 per cent of market volume and 68 per cent of turnover.
MTN Ghana alone generated GH¢45.54 million from 6.97 million shares. This means the company accounted for approximately 67.76 per cent of total market value and 41.35 per cent of total volume.
Kasapreko ranked second by both measures, recording GH¢11.57 million in turnover from 6.27 million shares. Combined, MTN Ghana and Kasapreko generated approximately GH¢57.11 million, or about 85 per cent of the exchange’s weekly turnover.
The concentration is striking. It shows that the headline market value was driven overwhelmingly by activity in two counters, while several listed companies recorded limited trading. For investors, this narrows the practical opportunity to build or exit substantial positions without influencing prices.
Distribution produced GH¢731,341, manufacturing GH¢684,627 and insurance GH¢640,835. Advertisement and production contributed GH¢105,290, agriculture GH¢97,044 and exchange-traded funds only GH¢26,355.
Daily data further reveal how uneven the week was. Turnover value began at GH¢3.92 million on October 12, slipped to GH¢3.50 million on October 13 and rose to GH¢13.23 million on October 14.
Activity surged to GH¢43.87 million on October 15 before falling sharply to GH¢2.69 million on October 16. The Thursday session consequently accounted for about 65 per cent of the week’s value, highlighting the influence of large individual transactions.
Market capitalisation moved from GH¢272.03 billion on Monday to GH¢268.21 billion on Thursday before recovering to GH¢271.26 billion on Friday. This volatility shows that aggregate value remained sensitive to price changes in influential stocks even as overall participation weakened.
The outlook remains constructive because market breadth was positive, both major indices advanced and several companies maintained exceptional year-to-date returns. However, the sustainability of the rally will increasingly depend on whether liquidity broadens beyond MTN Ghana and a small group of active counters.
For the GSE, the next stage of the rally should therefore be judged by participation as much as direction. Rising indices supported by deeper turnover, more active counters and less sector concentration would provide stronger evidence that the market’s 2026 gains are becoming durable.
