Benchmark Index drops below 2,500 points

The stock market has suffered significant losses that weighed heavily on the entire market, with the benchmark indices suffering the more.

As a result of Monday’s performance, the benchmark at the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) dropped below the 2,500-point mark, with practically no blue chips resisting the pressure.

The benchmark GSE Composite Index (GSE-CI) dropped 23.74 (-0.94%) points to close at 2,496.18 points, representing a 1-week loss of 2.46 percent, a 4-week loss of 8.95 percent, but an overall year-to-date gain of 2.14 percent.

Similarly, the banks index also underperformed. The GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE-FSI) also decreased by 0.02 percent to 1,677.35 points, making it a 1-week loss of 0.6 percent, a 4-week loss of 4.6 per cent, and a year-to-date loss of 18.28 percent.

In total, 15 GSE listed equities participated in trading, ending with disappointingly two losers, namely, SIC Insurance Company (-4%) and MTN Ghana (-1.82%). There were thirteen (13) stocks that traded flat while the session recorded no gainers.

SIC closed its trading day at GHS0.24 per share on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), recording a pesewa drop from its previous closing price of GHS0.25. SIC began the year with a share price of GHS0.31 but has since lost 22.6% off that price valuation, ranking it 33rd on the GSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

SIC Insurance Company is the 10th most traded stock on the Ghana Stock Exchange over the past three months (Feb 23 – May 29, 2023). SIC has traded a total volume of 275,351 shares valued at GHS 69,120 over the period, with an average of 4,371 traded shares per session.

SIC Insurance Company Limited operates in the financial sector, specifically, the Insurance industry. SIC Insurance Company Limited is currently the 24th most valuable stock on the GSE with a market capitalization of GHS 47 million, which makes about 0.072% of the Ghana Stock Exchange equity market.

The second loser was Scancom Plc, more commonly known as MTN Ghana. MTNGH closed its trading day at GHS1.08 per share on the Ghana Stock Exchange, recording a 1.8% drop from its previous closing price of GHS1.10.

However, MTN began the year with a share price of GHS0.88 and has since gained 22.7% on that price valuation, ranking it fourth on the GSE in terms of year-to-date performance. Investors should, however, take caution of MTNGH’s recent poor performance, having lost 14% of its value in the past four weeks.

MTN Ghana is currently the third most valuable stock on the GSE with a market capitalization of GHS 13.3 billion, which is about 20.2% of the entire Ghana Stock Exchange equity market.

Volume and Turnover Decline

The general bearish sentiment has affected the trading outcome. At the end of the first weekday of trading on the local bourse, a total of 283,113 shares, corresponding to a market value of GHS 181,769.45, were traded. Compared with the previous GSE trading day (Friday, May 26), Monday’s data showed 81% decline in volume.

SIC Insurance Company recorded the highest volume of 142,108 traded shares, followed by CAL Bank (51,641), Fan Milk (50,100) and MTN Ghana (26,028).

Meanwhile, the current market capitalization of the Ghana Stock Exchange stood at GHS 65.6 billion.