Ghana Stock Exchange: Market Update [ 31.05.12 ]

CAL Brokers (CBL): 

Further decline in the major indices on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), means performance in the month of May has been the worst this year, with 13 losses in 21 sessions.  The GSE-Composite Index returned -0.05%, following losses in two equities, to close trading at 1,022.95 points, down 0.54 points. The change represents a year-to-date return of 5.56%.

The Financial Stock benchmark closed 0.67 points lower at

Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE): Market Update: 08.05.12

In today's trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange, the GSE Composite Index went up by 7.13 point to close at 1,059.64 points. A gain in the share price of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) held off the losses in two other equities to push the Index.
Since ETI is a financial stock, the GSE Financial Stock Index also closed at 921.40 points from a previous of 910.92 points. This Index is still trading below the base index of 1000 points. As reported by CAL Brokers (CBL), the overall market return climbed to 9.35%.
The volume of shares traded increased by 57.81% amounting to a 12.93% increase in value, compared to the previous session. About 0.28 million shares valued at GHS 0.11 million were traded.
Out of the total volume traded, GOIL out-performed all other equities by trading 83.45 % of volume and this is about 77.09% of the traded value.
ETI was the only gainer and although it closed at GHS 0.14 from GHS 0.13 (1 pesewa gained), it had the capacity to move the market index up by some points despite the loses recorded by Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) [ -0.1%] and TOTAL [-0.15%] to close at GHS 51.30 and GHS 26.14 respectively.

Courtesy: Ghana Stock Exchange & CAL Brokers Ltd (CBL)

Is Ghana Stock Exchange a company? Who owns it? What is it then?

Hello reader,
I decided to write this because of some questions posed to me by some followers of this blog and it is all about the Ghana Stock Exchange. "Is the Ghana Stock Exchange a company?" she asked, If it is a company then who owns it and what do they do? If not a company then what is it?
Just like a market for trading fish, tomatoes, yam and other products, the Ghana Stock Exchange is a platform for trading securities (shares, bonds, futures, etc). Sellers bring their products and buyers come to buy. But because there are a lot of sellers and buyers, they are represented on the Exchange by Licensed Dealing Members (LDMs), (what people called Brokerage Firms or brokers). This means as a buyer or a seller, you cannot go to the exchange to buy or sell yourself (although some do).
The Ghana Stock Exchange plays a major role in securities industry regulation and is thus classified as a Self- Regulatory Organization. With respect to its numerous responsibilities, it simply monitors trading. It has Directors just like a company but the Securities and Exchange Commission oversees its regulation by making sure they do what they are supposed to do in the market and what is appropriate under the Security Industry Law (SIL)- the principal regulator.
When Public Limited Liability Companies want to raise capital for their business, the list shares on the exchange (that is, allowing people to own part of their company), so when investors study the company and find that the company is good and strong among other factors, they contact their brokers for them to make the trade - money, for part of the company. That is what the Ghana Stock Exchange oversees; that the right amount is paid and the ownership rights of part of the company is transferred to the name of the buyer or investor (in form of shares).
Finally, the Ghana Stock Exchange is privately financed and managed with the budget mainly financed by its members (LDMs and Associates) and issuer companies.

First Time Investors on Ghana Stock Exchange

In 2009, I bought my first stock as a first time investor which was an IPO of ETI. I bought 500 shares at 0.29 cents (about GHC 0.34) per share. I bought this stock without any market analysis but just out of desperation to own shares on the GSE. I must say that I was also happy for the fact that the dividends were paid in dollars and at that time, the dollar-cedi rate was in favor of the dollar.
This stock performed badly when it started trading and now it has fallen lower than half its initial share price.
One lesson from this investment is that, an investor should not to rush into investing but to study the market very well especially IPOs.
As an investor, one must consider so many factors before buying a stock or venturing in the capital market. The Ghanaian Capital market is becoming robust every single day and hence requires more attention and advice to invest and gain from it. Brokerage firms are sprouting from time to time and that means people in Ghana are now seeing the need to take the investment job serious hence the need for investment advisers. Competition is getting keen but the question is how prepared is the market for first time investors- those that know very little about investing. Is it true that the majority of investors on the exchange invest with their sentiments with very little or no investment advice?

How many investors understand the GSE Security Depository (GSD) System and know the investment laws enacted by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)? Answers to these questions should caution the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) to be more active. I entreat all first time investors to study the market or seek advice from experts (brokerage firms) before investing. You can make a lot of money in the stock market, just ask how?

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