Volume and value of traded stocks of listed companies on the stock exchange doubled in Q1 2021 recording over a hundred percent increment on a year-on-year basis.
Total volume of trades on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in the review quarter amounted to 200.93 million shares, valued at Ghs 153.40 million.
This compares with a volume of 99.51 million shares, valued at Ghs 76.85 million in the corresponding period of 2020.
During the review period, MTN GH and the IT sector stock recorded the highest volume and value of trades.
In Q1 2021, nine (9) stocks gained, while six (6) lost to moderate the gains in the GSE-CI, while the rest remained unchanged at the end of the review period.
MTN GH was the best performer and led the list of advancers with a share price appreciation of 32.8 percent. SOGEGH, TOTAL and SCB also recorded gains of 17.2 percent, 11.3 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively.
However, UNIL, ETI and ALW shed 26.9 percent, 12.5 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively, to top the losers. Other major losers were CAL and GLD, which shed 7.3 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.
The GSE Composite Index which measures the price performance of listed stocks surged in Q1 2021 recording an impressive gain of 14.0 percent returns for investors in dollar terms.
The performance of the GSE-CI could be attributed to waning adverse impact of COVID-19 on the domestic economy and an improvement in investor sentiments and confidence in the domestic economy.
Consequently, market capitalization increased by 5.1 percent in the period under review.
Total market capitalization as at the end of the first quarter stood at Ghs 57.1 billion, representing an increase of 5.1 percent (Ghs 2.7 billion).
Comparatively, market capitalization decreased by 1.4 percent (Ghs 805.73 million) in the same period in 2020. The main sectors that accounted for the increase in market capitalization were the IT (32.81%; Ghs 2,581) and Distribution (4.30%; Ghs 39.72).
The increase in market capitalization was moderated by decreases in the Manufacturing (-23.91%; – Ghs 141.74) and ETFund (-4.64%; -0.02) sectors.
