Ghana stock continues on bearish trend
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) bourse continued on its bearish trend as investors continued to sell-off equities on the GSE largely on account of profit taking.
The benchmark GSE-Composite Index thus dipped by 2.6 per cent on a week-on-week basis to close at 3,295.6 points, the fourth week of May (21 to 24) trading, which represents a year-to-date return of 27.8 per cent.
Nordea Capital Investment Stock analysis’ report available to the Ghana News Agency on Monday indicated a total of ten equities recorded price changes of which six backtracked.
Enterprise Group Limited topped the laggards as it dropped 10.3 per cent to GH¢3.50 per share; CAL Bank came second on the leader board, reducing its market value by 9.4 per cent to GH¢1.54 as the bank gears up for a bonus share issue in a ratio of one for every seven existing shares, which amounted to GH¢78.3 million.
Societe Generale dipped by 7.7 per cent to close at GH¢2.05 per share, its net interest income declined by one per cent which impacted profit after tax by 51.2 per cent to GH¢21.9 million for the first quarter of the year.
Standard Chartered lost by 7.6 per cent to end the week under review at GH¢30.00 per share; StanChart saw a two per cent increase in net interest income to GH¢117.8 million in the first quarter of this year, but recorded a profit after tax of GH¢80.8 million, which was lower than the GH¢83.6 million recorded for first quarter of 2017.
According to the Nordea Capital Investment stock market watchers, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) declined by 4.2 per cent to close at GH¢0.23 per share. ETI reported net revenue of $465 million, up nine per cent year-on-year, compared to the first quarter of 2017, mainly driven by non-interest revenue.
GCB Bank fell by 1.5 per cent to GH¢6.40 per share; Produce Buying Company added a quarter to its value to lead the advancers for the week, closing at GH¢0.05 per share.
Republic Bank gained 1.6 per cent, it closed at GH¢1.30 per share; Unilever Ghana Limited edged by 0.6 per cent to close at GH¢17.62 whiles Agribusiness firm, Benso Oil Palm Plantation rose by 0.1 per cent to close at GH¢7.24 per share.
Turnover continued to decline by 80.7 per cent from the previous week on account of lower volumes traded. CAL Bank accounted for 63 per cent of turnover for the week following 1.7 million shares traded last week.
Nordea Capital is an investment bank, licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and offers a comprehensive range of services in asset management, research and strategy, corporate finance and private equity to institutional, corporate and private clients.
Nordea Capital is dedicated to growing and preserving client assets and building trust, in partnership with financial professionals and institutions worldwide.
The GSE is the principal stock exchange of Ghana. The exchange was incorporated in July 1989 with trading commencing in 1990.
Criteria for listing include capital adequacy, profitability, spread of shares, years of existence and management efficiency.
Source: GNA