Ghana’s financial markets delivered a mixed but largely resilient performance over the review period, as a strong rally on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) contrasted with weakening investor demand in the Treasury bill market and a modest depreciation of the cedi across major currencies.
The overall picture points to sustained investor confidence in equities—particularly financial and ICT stocks—even as fixed income markets show signs of tightening liquidity and cautious sentiment toward short-term government instruments.
Equities market extends bullish run
The Ghana Stock Exchange remained the standout performer, with the benchmark Composite Index closing the week at 14,024.22 points.
This represents an impressive year-to-date return of 59.91%, underscoring one of the strongest equity market performances in recent years.
The rally was largely driven by gains in key stocks including CLYD, ETI, SIC, GCB, CAL, MTNGH, ALLGH, SOGEGH, RBGH, TOTAL, GOIL, and GLD, reflecting broad-based strength across sectors.
Among the top performers, CLYD led the pack with a 29.73% gain to close at GH₵1.44, pushing its year-to-date return to an exceptional 213.04%.
ETI followed with a 25.75% increase to GH₵2.10, delivering a year-to-date return of 172.73%.
SIC also recorded strong gains, rising by 25.28% to close at GH₵4.46, with a remarkable year-to-date return of 271.67%.
GCB advanced by 22.38%to GH₵31.77, bringing its year-to-date return to 57.98%, while CAL climbed 14.67% to close at GH₵0.86, with a year-to-date return of 34.38%.
Despite the overall bullish trend, a few stocks recorded marginal declines.
SCB dipped slightly by 0.03% to close at GH₵71.38, although it still maintains a strong year-to-date return of 144.28%.
FML declined by 0.32% to GH₵12.55, while EGH dropped 1.115 points to GH₵48.90.
GGBL also fell by 1.29% to GH₵15.30, and EGL recorded the sharpest decline among laggards, dropping 3.09% to GH₵11.30. Notably, all these stocks remain significantly positive on a year-to-date basis, highlighting the depth of the ongoing market rally.
Market activity strengthened considerably, with trading volumes rising by 46.74% from 8,657,932 shares to 12,704,860 shares. Total value traded reached approximately GH₵62.32 million, indicating increased investor participation and liquidity.
Analysts expect the strong performance to continue in the near term, particularly with financial stocks and ICT-related equities likely to remain key drivers of market momentum.
Treasury bill auction records undersubscription
In contrast to the buoyant equities market, the primary segment of the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) showed signs of weakening demand.
Investor appetite for Treasury bills declined from GH₵5,310.29 million in the previous week to GH₵4,488.55 million in the latest auction.
The government had targeted GH₵4,890.00 million but fell short, recording an undersubscription of 8.21%.
Despite the shortfall, acceptance rates remained high for shorter-tenor instruments.
The government accepted 99.46% of bids for the 91-day Treasury bill and 98.30% for the 182-day bill, indicating continued preference for short-term securities.
However, the 364-day Treasury bill recorded a significantly lower acceptance rate of 68.06%, reflecting more cautious investor sentiment toward longer-duration instruments.
Interest rates edged upward across all tenors, signalling tightening conditions in the fixed income market.
The 91-day Treasury bill rate increased by 4 basis points to 4.95%, while the 182-day bill rose by 13 basis points to 6.91%. The 364-day bill saw the largest increase, rising by 15 basis points to 10.13%.
Looking ahead, the government is targeting GH₵4,475.00 million in its next auction, slightly lower than the previous target, possibly reflecting a more cautious borrowing strategy in response to demand conditions.
Secondary market activity declines
Activity in the secondary fixed income market also weakened during the period.
Trading volumes on the GFIM declined by 18.3% week-on-week to GH₵8.70 billion.
Treasury bills dominated trading activity, accounting for 66.44% of total transactions, reinforcing their position as the most liquid instruments in the market.
DDEP bonds accounted for 18.84% of trades, followed by sell-buy-back transactions at 13.85%.
New Government of Ghana notes contributed 0.55%, while corporate bonds made up just 0.28%.
Old Government of Ghana bonds accounted for a negligible 0.02% of total trades.
The decline in trading volumes suggests cautious positioning by investors, possibly influenced by evolving interest rate expectations and broader macroeconomic conditions.
Cedi depreciates across major currencies
On the currency front, the Ghana cedi recorded marginal depreciation against all major trading currencies during the week, according to Bank of Ghana interbank midrates.
The cedi weakened by 0.18 percent against the US dollar to close at GH₵11.05, bringing its year-to-date depreciation to 5.43%. Against the British pound, the cedi depreciated by 0.91% to GH₵14.98, with a year-to-date decline of 6.16%.
Similarly, the cedi lost 0.86% against the euro, settling at GH₵13.04 and recording a year-to-date depreciation of 5.91%.
Indicative rates on the open market were slightly higher, with the cedi closing at GH₵11.27 to the dollar, GH₵15.23 to the pound, and GH₵13.25 to the euro.
Outlook: Equities lead, fixed income cautious
The divergent trends across Ghana’s financial markets highlight shifting investor preferences, with equities emerging as the dominant asset class amid strong returns and improved corporate performance.
At the same time, the fixed income market is experiencing softer demand and rising yields, suggesting a more cautious outlook among investors.
Going forward, market watchers expect equities—particularly in the financial and ICT sectors—to continue driving overall market performance, while developments in interest rates, liquidity conditions, and currency stability will shape activity in the fixed income and forex markets.
