The market indices pared last Tuesday?s trading session weighed by declines in four equities. Volume and turnover traded improved over figures recorded on Monday.
Ghana Oil closed the day on a positive note appreciating by 2GHp to 98GHp. ?Ayrton Drugs and CAL Bank also added a pesewa each to close at 18GHp and 90GHp respectively.
Ghana Commercial Bank was held back , leading decliners with a 7GHp loss to GH?5.32. Fan Milk and Total Petroleum also declined by 6GHp each to GH?6.58 and GH?6.35 respectively. Last on the list was Societe Generale? which shaved a pesewa to end the session at 87GHp.
In all, fourteen equities changed hands with a total volume of 135,211 shares valued at GH?233,389 being recorded.
As a result of these changes, the benchmark Composite Index trimmed 4.2 points to 2,318.20 representing a change of 8.06% this year. The Financial Index also gave up 4.17 points to 2,135.96. The year to date return on the Financial Index stands at 19.55%.
Outlook
We expect improved market activity at the next session. Investors sought for shares in Enterprise Group, SIC Insurance, Ghana Oil and ETI at the end of today?s trading.? This is expected to boost volumes as well as steady the bourse at the close of the mid-week session.
The Cedi was resilient on the currency market today as it took advantage of the general global risk aversion generated by geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East. The local currency continued to trade higher against the Euro, the Pound and the Swiss Franc and remained unchanged against the Dollar and the Rand.
The Cedi appreciated against the Euro for a fifth-day on concerns of uncertainty surrounding the downing of Malaysian airliner MH17 and the increasing death toll in Gaza. The local currency hinged on this development to climb 0.29% against the shared currency with rates by bank traders averaging GH?4.08.
In the same vein, the Cedi added 0.04% and 0.31% against the Pound and the Swiss Franc respectively with traders paying an average of GH?5.17 and GH?3.36 for the Pound and the Swiss Franc respectively.
In spite of the renewed concerns over Ukraine putting pressure on emerging markets, the local currency continued to stay unchanged against the Dollar for a fourth successive session. The Cedi thus changed hands at GH?3.03 against the green back.
The Cedi also remained stable against the Rand at the previous session?s average quote of 28GHp on the forex market.
