A second session of improved turnover saw the GSE All-Share Index close up 3.02 points at 821.19. A block of 1,128,000 shares in Guinness Ghana Ltd was traded at 910 cedis, removing one of the blocks of stock that has been overhanging and depressing the market.

The only price movement was in Standard Chartered Bank, which rose 300 cedis to 24,300 on turnover of 20,000 shares - another large trade for the Ghana market, valued at 486m cedis.

Ghana Commercial Bank was also active, with 16,900 shares traded at 1000 cedis (unchanged), and the long term decline of SSB Ltd was arrested as buyers came back into the market, bidding for 13,800 shares and picking up the 2000 offered at 1650 cedis.

Home Finance Company and Enterprise Insurance Co - the other financial stocks - were also traded. HFC saw 6,700 shares traded at 750 cedis, while EIC just traded a parcel of 500 shares at 2000 cedis.

The "optimism" index, of issues where shares bid exceeds shares offered rose again to 6. In addition to GGL, SCB, and SSB, the recent large offer of stock in Aluworks Ltd was withdrawn, leaving 50,000 shares bid against 31,500 offered. The list is completed by Fan Milk Ltd, where 200 shares were traded at 1250 cedis, and Unilever where 417,000 shares were bid, but only 1700 traded at 1750 cedis.

Metalloplastica Ghana Ltd brought the number of issues traded to 10, as 100 shares changed hands at 225 cedis.

Aggregate shares offered were slightly up at 3.2m, while bids rose sharply to just over 2m. Aggregate shares traded amounted to 1.17m, valued at over 1.5b cedis.

One unit of the HFC Housbonds 'A' Series, 7% 2001 was traded at US$101.