The Nairobi Securities Exchange posted increased in activity during the week. The equities market turnover increased by 6.48% to Kes.2.33 billion from the Kes.2.19 billion achieved in the preceding week. This was backed by the increase in activity on the major blue-chips and by increased activity as investors reacted to quarterly reports from various listed companies.
The benchmark all share index of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NASI) took a hit during the week, declining by 0.3% week on week to close the week at 143.30 points, the decline on NASI was mainly attributed to Safaricom declining by 0.3% to KES 31.90 (24.5% of traded value).
The NSE20 and the NSE25 share indices were similarly lower, shedding 1.56% and 0.4% to close the week at 1,758.05and 3,242.80 points respectively. The NSE20 and the NSE25 share indices have shed up to 33.77% and 20.92% in year to date performance respectively.
The Banking Sector was the most active sector during the week, with shares worth Kes.1.1 billion transacted, accounting for 51.53% of the week’s traded value. Equity Group Holdings Plc shed 2.69% in share price to close the week at Kes.34.40 per share as compared to the Kes.35.35 posted in the previous week’s close, with shares worth Kes.503 million transacted.
KCB Group Plc was however up with investors reacting to news of acquisitions in Rwanda and Tanzania. The share price rose 2.62% to Kes.37.15, with 10 million shares valued at Kes.375 million transacted.
The telecommunications sector was second in activity with Safaricom declining by 0.31% to Kes.31.90, down from Kes.32.00 registered the previous week. Safaricom had shares valued at Kes.570 million transacted; translating to 24.49% of the week’s traded value.
During the week, Centum Investment Company Plc released its 1H21 financial results. The firm has posted a loss of KES 1.3 billion, attributed to revaluation losses of KES 1.4 billion. On a positive note, the company’s net cash flow from operation was KES 3.9 billion, driven by the shareholder loan repayment of KES 3.75 billion from Centum Real Estate.
Trading on the secondary bond market at the Nairobi Securities Exchange saw a growth in activity with bonds, posting a 18.81% rise in turnover at Kes.15.85 billion worth of bonds traded against the Kes 13.34 billion worth of bonds transacted in the previous week.
