The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has told Citi Business News it expects the stock market to bounce back by the end of the second quarter of this year.
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) this year has not generated enough returns as compared to the same period last year.
Some stockbrokers have identified the continuous depreciation of the cedi coupled with the increasing taxes by government as contributing to the poor performance.
But speaking to Citi Business News, the Deputy Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission Alexander Williams said he expects a strong resurgence.
‘It’s a demand and supply situation, so it’s the industry that determines how to sell their products and it is true the market is not performing well like last year, but let’s give it some time probably let’s look at the second quarter of the year but am hopeful by July it will pick up’.
SEC is not the only institution hopeful of a bounce back of the stock exchange.
According to an Ecobank Research report released this year the Ghana Stock Exchange will end on a good note this year in spite of the turbulent economic conditions presently prevailing in the country.
The report however says there is a growing concern among foreign investors on the macroeconomic environment in Ghana, especially the rapid depreciation of the local currency which has depreciated by about 17.3 percent year to date (YTD), and this could adversely affect their participation in the Ghanaian equity market for the rest of the year.
According to the report banking stocks will continue to dominate market activity for the rest of the year, the report identified CAL, GCB, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), HFC and UT Bank (UTB) as some of the banking stocks that would drive market activity during the year.
Citifmonline.com/Ghana