STOCK MARKET REVIEW

The Ghana Stock Exchange strengthened  for the week on the back of declines in 2 counters. The GSE Composite Index (GSE CI) gained 1.19 points (+0.06%) to close at 2,730.37 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) loss of 2.11%. The GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE FI) however, lost 10.26 points (-0.48%) to close at 2,117.65 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) loss of 1.59%.

Market capitalization inched up by 0.03% to close the week at GH¢63,730.40 million, from GH¢63,713.60 million at the close of the previous week. This reflects YTD decrease of 1.19%.

Trading activity witnessed a total of 10,245,775 shares valued at GH¢12,580,754.78 changing hands compared with  5,917,395 shares, valued at GH¢6,461,373.44 in the preceding week.

MTN dominated  both volume and value of trades for the week, accounting for 83.56% and 73.49% of volume  and value of trades respectively for the week.

The market closed the week with 2 price gainers and 2 price decliners as indicated on the table below.

CURRENCY MARKET

The Cedi continued its downward trend against the USD for the fourth consecutive week. It traded at GH¢6.3020/$ on Friday, compared to GH¢6.1077/$ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 3.08% and 4.70% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 0.01% a year ago.      

The Cedi also lost grounds against the GBP for the week. It traded at GH¢8.5754/£, compared with GH¢8.2628/£ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 3.65% and 5.23% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 1.08% a year ago.

The Cedi again retreated against the Euro for the week as it traded at GH¢7.1867/€, compared with GH¢6.9743/€ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 2.95% and 4.99%  respectively. This compares with YTD appreciation of 1.37% a year ago.

The Cedi  further weakened against the Canadian Dollar for the week. It opened at GH¢4.7847/C$ but closed at GH¢4.9684/C$, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 3.70%  and 4.56%  respectively. This compares with YTD appreciation of 0.08% a year ago.

 Source: Bank of Ghana

GOVERNMENT SECURITIES MARKET

Government raised a sum of GH¢1,634.90 million for the week across the 91-Day , 182-Day and 364-DayTreasury bills and a 2-Year Fixed Rate Note, compared to GH¢1,303.05 million raised in the previous week.

The 91-Day and 182-Day Bills both gained  3bps to settle at 12.69% and 13.26% p.a. respectively. The 364-Day bill also gained 2bps to settle at 16.99% p.a. The 2-Year FXR remained unchanged at 19.75% p.a.

The table and graph below highlight primary market yields at close of the week.

Source: Bank of Ghana

COMMODITY MARKET

Crude Oil prices dipped for the first time after recording hikes in seven consecutive weeks, as strong U.S. inflation data stoked fears of aggressive interest rate hikes. Investors' focus is also on the outcome of U.S.-Iran talks. Brent futures traded at US$93.10 a barrel on Friday, compared to US$93.27 at week open. This reflects a w/w loss and YTD gain of 0.18% and 19.70%.

Gold prices inched up fears of an imminent Russia-Ukraine war. Gold settled at US$1,842.10 from US$1,807.80 last week, reflecting w/w and YTD  appreciations of 1.90% and 1.14% respectively.

Prices of Cocoa advanced for the week. The commodity traded at US$2,766.00 per tonne on Friday, from US$2,668.00 last week, reflecting  w/w and YTD appreciations of 3.67% and 9.76% respectively.

International Commodity Prices

 Source: www.investing.com

BUSINESS TERM OF THE WEEK

Debt-Service Coverage Ratio:  The debt-service coverage ratio applies to corporate, government, and personal finance. In the context of corporate finance, the debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR) is a measurement of a firm's available cash flow to pay current debt obligations. The DSCR shows investors whether a company has enough income to pay its debts.

Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dscr.asp

ABOUT CIDAN

CIDAN Investments Limited is an investment and fund management company licensed by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).