Trading activity expected to surge between now and end of the year

The benchmark index advanced by 13.28 points (+0.74%) on the back of two telecom and banking counters to close last week at 1,820.22 with a – 19.36% year-to-date return. The market capitalization increased by 0.26% to settle at GH¢53.10 billion.

Ecobank Ghana (+1.00%) edged the GSE Financial Index higher by 2.80 points (+0.17%) to close at 1,625.60 with a -19.51% year-to-date return while the SAS Manufacturing Index recorded no gains or losses, closing at 1,789.37 with a year-to-date return of -48.60%.

MTN Ghana (+1.67%) completed the gainers’ chart at GH¢0.61.

Trading activity strengthened as 37,587,374 shares valued at GH¢23,213,076 changed hands from 13,174,852 shares valued GH¢8,802,796 last week. MTN Ghana dominated trades by volume and value, accounting for 97.78% of the total volume traded and 96.58% of the total value traded.

Trading activity is expected to surge between now and the end of the year although this week being an election week may see some slow down especially with the week starting with a public holiday.

Generally, analysts expect that the markets would react better to a victory by the incumbent administration which it sees as more pro-business than the opposition party even though the current government has presided over the longest bear market in the history of the GSE to date.

In response to this analysts point out that the bear market only applies to the equities segment of the GSE; The Ghana Fixed Income Market is enjoying far and away its biggest boom in its five year history in terms of liquidity and trading volumes, which is the direct result of the positive long term yield curve developed over the past couple of years by the incumbent government’s successful issuance of cedi denominated bonds with tenors of up to 20 years.