Ghana’s stock market opened the week on a firm footing on Tuesday, extending its year-long rally as gains in banking stocks lifted the main indices and trading activity surged, according to a daily market review by Databank.
The benchmark Composite Index of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) added 3.52 points to close at 8,759.11 points, taking its year-to-date return to 79.18 percent. The GSE’s blue-chip DSI 20 index also edged higher, rising 0.27 points to 405.22 points, with a year-to-date gain of 110.37 percent.
Market sentiment was supported by gains in two stocks, led by Republic Bank Ghana Holdings (RBGH), which advanced 4.00 percent to close at about US$0.09 per share, while GCB Bank climbed 1.74 percent to around US$1.33. In contrast, gold producer Golden Star Resources (GLD) retreated 1.89 percent to roughly US$31.30 a share, marking the session’s lone decliner.
Trading activity accelerated sharply, with market turnover jumping by nearly eightfold from the previous session. Total value traded rose by 769.79 percent day-on-day to approximately US$9.6 million, after investors exchanged about 35.34 million shares across 19 listed equities.
MTN Ghana dominated the session, accounting for almost 90 percent of total turnover, underscoring the telecoms giant’s continued influence on market liquidity and investor sentiment.
Analysts say the strong showing reflects sustained investor confidence in selected large-cap stocks, particularly in the financial and telecommunications sectors, which have been among the main beneficiaries of Ghana’s equity market rebound this year.
The GSE has staged one of its strongest rallies in recent years, buoyed by easing macroeconomic pressures, improving corporate earnings and renewed local investor participation following last year’s debt restructuring. Banking stocks, in particular, have attracted interest amid expectations of balance sheet recovery and improved profitability.
Despite the upbeat performance, market watchers caution that trading remains highly concentrated in a handful of counters, leaving overall liquidity vulnerable to shifts in sentiment around dominant stocks such as MTN Ghana.
Still, Tuesday’s gains add to momentum in a market that has consistently outperformed many peers on the African continent in 2025, with both headline indices more than doubling in value on a year-to-date basis.
Background on the Ghana Stock Exchange
The Ghana Stock Exchange is one of West Africa’s oldest and most established capital markets, serving as a key platform for equity and debt financing in Ghana’s economy.
The exchange was incorporated in 1989 and began trading in 1990 as part of Ghana’s broader financial sector reforms aimed at liberalising the economy and attracting private capital. It was originally established as a private company limited by guarantee before demutualising in 2020, when it transitioned into a public company owned by licensed dealing members, issuers and other stakeholders.
The GSE operates two main equity indices. The GSE Composite Index (GSE-CI) tracks the performance of all listed equities and serves as the market’s primary benchmark. The GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE-FSI) focuses on banks and other financial institutions, reflecting the sector’s importance to Ghana’s economy. In recent years, the exchange also introduced the GSE DSI 20 Index, which tracks the 20 most liquid and capitalised stocks to better reflect blue-chip performance.
The market lists companies across banking, telecommunications, mining, manufacturing, energy, insurance and consumer goods. Major listings include telecoms firm MTN Ghana, several leading banks, and mining companies with operations across West Africa. MTN Ghana, which listed in 2018, has since become the most actively traded stock and a major driver of daily market turnover.
Alongside equities, the GSE hosts a growing fixed-income market, which allows trading in government and corporate bonds. This segment expanded rapidly in the years preceding Ghana’s 2022–2023 domestic debt restructuring, after which activity slowed but has gradually resumed as investor confidence improves.
More Read
The exchange is regulated by Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission and allows full foreign participation, with no restrictions on the repatriation of capital or dividends. Foreign investors, particularly institutional funds, have historically played a significant role in market liquidity, though local pension funds and retail investors now account for a rising share of activity.
In recent years, the GSE has undergone significant modernisation, including the introduction of electronic trading, settlement cycles aligned with international standards, and new market segments such as the Ghana Alternative Market (GAX), designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises raise capital.
The market’s strong performance in 2024 and 2025 follows a difficult period marked by macroeconomic instability, currency weakness and Ghana’s debt restructuring programme. Analysts say the rebound reflects easing inflation, currency stabilisation, improved earnings expectations and renewed risk appetite among domestic investors.
