The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) registered a significant decrease in trading activity during the session on Thursday 20th November, as evidenced by a pronounced 40.15% decline in turnover. The day’s trading value settled at KES 616.06 million, a substantial decrease from the previous session’s KES 1.03 billion. Market participation was predominantly driven by local investors, who accounted for 65.07% of activity while foreign investor participation constituted 34.93%.
Limuru Tea Plc, was the session’s leading performer, recorded a gain of 10% to close at KES 465.75. Crown Paints, followed closely, appreciating by 9.84% to close at KES 56.oo. Conversely, the most significant depreciations were observed in energy firm Umeme Ltd, which declined by 6.19% to KES 6.38 and WPP Scan Group, which dipped by 5.85% to KES 2.55.
NSE Indices Performance
A review of the market indices revealed a nuanced sentient. The Nairobi All Share Index (NASI) recorded a marginal uptick of 0.05%, closing at 188.26 points, indicating a slight positive bias in the broader market. However, this was not reflected in other major indices, as the NSE 10, NSE 20, and NSE 25 all posted minor losses.
The banking sector was also a notable underperformer, with its index declining by 0.94% to close at 201.51 points. This sectoral weakness was driven by losses in key constituents, including Absa Bank, (-5.66% to KES 23.30) KCB Group ( -0,84% to KES 65.00), Co-operative Bank (-0.43% to KES 24.45) and NCBA Bank (-0.30% to KES 83.25). These losses were partially offset by gains in Safaricom Plc (+1.04% to KES 29.70), I&M Group (+0.54% to KES 46.05) and Kengen (+0.41% to KES 10.30).
NSE Trading Volume and Turnover
In the fixed income market, the secondary bond turnover decreased by 6.93% to KES 4.83 billion, down from KES 5.19 billion in the previous session. Meanwhile activities in the derivatives market presented a mixed picture; while the volume and value of traded contracts increased by 167% and 102% to 801 and KES 4M, respectively; the number of open interest contracts declined to 5,369.
Concluding the session’s equities activity, Safaricom Plc, emerged as the most traded security, recording a turnover of KES 338.97 million traded across 349 deals with 11.4 million shares traded.
Also Read: CAK Gives a Nod To The Acquisition of Mace Consult by Bidco Consult
