MTN Ghana GSE trading accounted for more than 90% of the Ghana Stock Exchange’s turnover on September 7, leaving activity across the rest of the equities market unusually thin.
Investors traded 20.48 million shares worth GH¢139.04 million during the session. The amount looked substantial. Almost all of it came from two companies.
MTN Ghana recorded 18.47 million shares valued at GH¢126.32 million, representing 90.19% of total volume and 90.85% of total value. Its share price slipped by one pesewa from GH¢6.86 to GH¢6.85, a marginal decline of about 0.15%.
GCB Bank followed with 268,492 shares worth GH¢10.62 million. The bank gained one pesewa to close at GH¢39.56 and contributed roughly 7.64% of the market’s turnover.
Combined, the two stocks generated 98.49% of the value traded. Every other security on the market shared the remaining 1.51%.
Big turnover, narrow market
The concentration creates an important distinction between turnover and liquidity across the market.
GH¢139.04 million in daily transactions would normally suggest broad investor activity. Yet most listed companies attracted modest trades, while several recorded no activity at all. The headline number, in effect, was overwhelmingly an MTN Ghana number.
The wider market also weakened. The GSE Composite Index declined by 32.40 points from 14,814.08 to 14,781.68, according to official exchange data. The Financial Stocks Index gained 9.92 points to settle at 7,828.03.
Kasapreko and DAS Pharma retreat
Beyond the two dominant counters, Kasapreko PLC traded 450,806 shares valued at GH¢821,770.18. Its price fell 4.21% from GH¢1.90 to GH¢1.82.
Dannex Ayrton Starwin Pharmaceuticals recorded the sharpest notable loss on the main market. The stock dropped 9.92% from GH¢1.21 to GH¢1.09 after 18,697 shares changed hands.
Benso Oil Palm Plantation lost 2.18% to close at GH¢75, while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated declined 0.56% to GH¢1.77.
CAL Bank moved the other way, gaining 4.17% to close at GH¢0.75. SIC Insurance added 3.23% to reach GH¢5.43, while Trust Bank Gambia rose 6.67% to GH¢1.28.
Trust Bank’s gain came on transactions worth only GH¢17,773.32. That relatively small turnover shows how prices in thinner counters can move sharply without attracting much capital.
Several established companies finished unchanged. Guinness Ghana Breweries closed at GH¢10.70, GOIL remained at GH¢7.45, Unilever Ghana held at GH¢40 and Standard Chartered Bank Ghana stayed at GH¢69.89.
GAX activity remains limited
Digicut Production and Advertising led trading on the Ghana Alternative Market with 784,960 shares worth GH¢293,756.25. Its price declined 2.56% to GH¢0.38.
Intravenous Infusions lost 7.69% to close at GH¢0.60, while Hords PLC remained unchanged at GH¢0.83.
The NewGold exchange traded fund also finished unchanged at GH¢462.39 after 234 units valued at GH¢108,199.26 were traded.
The session exposed a familiar weakness in the market. Strong turnover matters, but breadth matters too. Until meaningful liquidity reaches more listed companies, one large transaction in MTN Ghana can continue to make an otherwise quiet market appear exceptionally busy.
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