The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) closed the fourteenth week in bullish note, rebounding from weeks of losses driven by broad sell off and bearish investor sentiment amid geopolitical tensions linked to the Middle East conflict.
The Exchange recorded broad-based gains across its major indices despite subdued trading activity. The Nairobi All Share Index (NASI), which tracks the performance of all listed companies rose by 1.93% to 199.26 points. The upturn was mainly driven by gains in market heavy weights including Absa Bank Kenya which rose by 8.8%.
The Banking sector index rose the highest, up 3.01% to close at 228.60, while the NSE 10 advanced by 2.22% to 2,072.10 points. The NSE 20 and NSE 25 closed at 3,479.71 points and 5,523.02 points, respectively.
The volume of shares traded plunged 37.07% to 94.13 million, while equity turnover plummeted by 43.05% to KES 2.74 billion from KES 4.80 billion. Investor wealth, (market capitalization) rose by KES 62.7 billion to KES 3.3 trillion.
NSE Top Gainers and Losers
Gains at the exchange were led by commercial stocks, with national carrier Kenya Airways topping the chart after rising 14.4% to KES 5.48, driven by intensified efforts to secure a strategic investor, alongside increased accumulation of the stock. Uchumi Supermarket followed, gaining 10.9%. Sanlam Kenya posted a gain of 10.7%, while Flame Tree Group inched up 10.2%. Rounding off the top gainers was Absa Bank Kenya, which rose by 8.8%.
On the downside, Shri Krishana Overseas Limited emerged the biggest laggard shedding 11.9%. Jubilee Holdings followed, declining by 5.8%, while Nairobi Business Ventures fell by 5.4%. TPS EA Serena also came under pressure, slipping 5.4%. Britam holdings rounded off the top losers, declining by 4.8%.
Who Dominated?
Safaricom, Equity Bank, KCB, EABL and Co-operative Bank, dominated trading, posting a combined market turnover of KES 2.23 billion, equivalent to 82.3% of the total turnover. Mobile network operator Safaricom PLC posted a turnover of KES 1.08 billion, while Equity Group posted 597.1 million. KCB, EABL and Co-op Bank posted turnovers of KES 365.3 million, KES 131.9 million, and KES 73.1 million, respectively.
Foreign investors remained net sellers, recording net outflows of KES 748.4 million, up from a net outflow of KES 503.7 million in the previous week. During the week, foreign investors accounted for KES 1.1 billion in turnover, representing 38.5% of the total turnover.
Derivatives
On the NEXT derivatives market, the number of contracts traded stood at 6,682, largely unchanged from 6,499 recorded in the previous week. The derivatives market has recorded a strong performance this year, hitting an all-time full year turnover of KES 312.3 million as of March 27, 2026, supported by increased participation across the market.
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