Investor activity in Ghana’s financial markets presented a mixed picture over the past week, with Treasury bill auctions falling short of government targets, the Cedi depreciating against major trading currencies, and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) inching up on the back of strong performances by select financial and insurance stocks.
Treasury Bills auction falls short of target
Investor demand for short-term government securities rose slightly this week, with bids totalling GH₵3.64 billion compared to GH₵3.37 billion the previous week.
However, the amount still fell short of the government’s target of GH₵3.86 billion, representing a 5.62% undersubscription.
All bids for the 91-day Treasury bill were accepted, while acceptance rates for the 182-day and 364-day bills stood at 62.56% and 46.92% respectively.
Interest rates on the 91-day and 182-day bills held steady at 14.70% and 15.25%, respectively, while the yield on the 364-day bill eased by 4 basis points to 15.65%.
Secondary market volume dips
Activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) also slowed during the week, with trading volumes falling by 20% to GH₵2.1 billion.
Government notes and bonds remained the most actively traded instruments, accounting for 55.68% of total volumes.
Treasury bills made up 30.22%, corporate bonds followed with 11.85%, while Sell Buy Back trades contributed 2.24%.
Cedi slips against major currencies
The Ghana cedi posted a slight depreciation against the U.S. dollar, losing 0.10% to close the week at GH₵10.3100 per dollar, though it retains a strong year-to-date (YTD) appreciation of 42.58%.
However, the cedi’s losses were more pronounced against the British pound and the euro, falling by 1.94% and 1.62% respectively.
It closed the week at GH₵14.1479 to the pound and GH₵12.0675 to the euro.
According to open market indicative rates, the cedi was trading at GH₵10.36 to the dollar, GH₵14.28 to the pound, and GH₵12.18 to the euro.
GSE Composite Index gains 0.62%
Despite subdued market volumes, the Ghana Stock Exchange Composite Index (GSE-CI) rose by 0.62% to end the week at 6,248.48 points, bringing its year-to-date return to an impressive 27.82%.
The index was buoyed by gains in the share prices of several financial and energy stocks. Notably, Total Petroleum Ghana Ltd. surged 10% to close at GH₵27.50, bringing its YTD return to 109.60%. GCB Bank Ltd. rose by 7.18% to GH₵10 (YTD: 56.99%), Ecobank Ghana Ltd. climbed 4.19% to GH₵8.70 (YTD: 33.85%), and Standard Chartered Bank Gh. Ltd. increased 3.26% to GH₵27.88 (YTD: 21.22%).
Other notable gainers included Societe Generale Ghana Ltd. (up 3% to GH₵2.06), Cal Bank Ltd. (up 1.85% to GH₵0.55), and SIC Insurance Company Ltd., which advanced 1.79% to GH₵1.14—cementing its position as the top-performing stock on the bourse with a stellar 322.22% YTD return.
On the losing side, Enterprise Group Ltd. dropped 0.35% to GH₵2.85, MTN Ghana fell 0.68% to GH₵2.93, Fan Milk Ltd. declined by 1.20% to GH₵4.10, and NewGold (GLD) shed 1.39% to close at GH₵353.88.
Market outlook
Trading volumes declined slightly by 2.01% to 5,785,849 shares, with a total market value of approximately GH₵22 million exchanged.
Analysts at Tesah Capital expect continued investor interest in financial stocks and the ICT sector, which are poised to play pivotal roles in driving the index’s performance in the coming weeks.
