The Ghana Stock Exchange bounced back mildly on Friday after steep losses earlier in the week, supported by gains in British American Tobacco , market operators said.

The index rose 0.94 point to 894.96 after posting a 6.33-point drop on Wednesday, its biggest fall of the year. The index is up 4.3 percent from the start of 2001.

BAT was the sole mover with a 20 cedi gain to 480 cedis. The company this week released its annual results showing a net profit of 15,049 million cedis in 2000, against 10,330 million in 1999.

Total stock exchange turnover climbed to 119.3 million cedis ($16,863) from Wednesday's 39.5 million.

The cedi currency was at 7,057 per dollar on Friday, barely changed from Wednesday's 7,107. The cedi has been quite stable since the start of the year after losing some 50 percent of its value against the dollar in 2000.