The Nairobi bourse was cumulatively bullish during the week as investors maintained interest on the blue-chip counters, with a greater focus on the financials sector. Foreign investor activity was marginally lower, with foreign investors retreating from the market on news that U.S President Donald Trump, the world’s most powerful politician, had tested positive for the Corona Virus.
The All Share Index of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NASI) retreated by 0.1% during the week to close at 140.22. The NSE20 Index added a weekly gain of 0.2% while the NSE25 share index declined 0.19% to close the week at 1,852.17 and 3242.54 basis points respectively.
General market activity was lower, with the turnover declining by 55.7% to KES 1.5 billion from the 3.4 billion transacted the previous week. Similarly, the volume of shares exchanging hands on the exchange declined by 44.6% to 67.6 million from the 122 million posted the previous week.
Jubilee holdings Plc was the top gainer this week, adding 32.6% in weekly gains to Kes 291.75. This was attributed to positive investor sentiment following the announcement of a strategic partnership with global insurer and asset manager Allianz SE. The transaction will involve Jubilee selling controlling stakes (51.0% to 66.0%) of its general and short business in its regional subsidiaries and acquisition of Allianz’s general insurance business in Kenya for a total consideration of KES 10.8 billion.
By volume, Safaricom led the movers, with 29 million shares worth Kes.866M exchanging hands at a fairly stable price of Kes.30.00; this represented 56.83% of the week’s traded value. The banking Sector came in second with shares worth Kes.388 million transacted, accounting for 25.50% of the week’s traded value. Equity Group Holdings Plc moved 3.5 million shares worth Kes.130 million at prices of Kes.35.95. KCB Group Plc was however down 1.03% to Kes.38.50 per share with 2.3 million shares worth Kes.93 million moved.
During the week, Kenya’s Central Bank through its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the Central Bank Rate (CBR) at 7.0% for the 3rd consecutive month. The MPC noted that the accommodative policy was effective in stimulating the economy.
The Derivatives Market of the NSE closed the week with a total of 5 contracts valued at Kes.474,000 concluded in this week’s trading session, posting a great decline from last week’s value of Kes 596,000. The secondary trading on the bond market saw a moderate growth in activity with bonds valued at Kes.16.0 billion billion traded against the Kes 12.0 billion worth of bonds achieved in the previous week.
