Trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), on 22nd January 2026 was generally positive as evidenced by the performance of indices, and overall market capitalization, which edged higher by 0.55%. This gain was primarily sustained by positive sentiment surrounding the proposed acquisition of 66% of the issued shares in NCBA Group by South Africa’s Nedbank Group.
The session had significant divergence among individual equities. Kenya Airways and NCBA Group emerged as the top performers, leading the gainers with appreciation of 9.6% and 9.5%, respectively. They were followed by Olympia Capital Holdings (+4.0%), Nairobi Business Ventures (+3.6%), and Uchumi Supermarkets (+3.2%). Conversely, the market witnessed notable declines, with Standard Group leading losers, declining by 7.7%. Other significant decliners included Eaagads Plc (-4.1%), TPS Eastern Africa (-3.5%), Flame Tree Group (-3.4%), and WPP Scangroup (-3.3%).
NSE Indices Performance
In the equity segment, the benchmark Nairobi All Share Index (NASI) advanced by 0.6%, closing at 194.49 points. Despite the index gain, overall trading activity declined by 10.0% to KES 675.72 million, down from KES 750.45 million in the prior session. Sectoral indices projected a varied performance. The Banking Sector Index led the gains with an increase of 1.1%. NSE-25 and NSE-20 indices rose by 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively, contributing to a slight 0.55% increase in overall market capitalization to KES 3,069.34 million.
However, the days market performance was weighed down by several large-cap stocks, including Equity Group, Standard Chartered Bank, East African Breweries, and Jubilee Holdings, which recorded losses of 0.4%, 0.3%, 0.2%, and 0.1%, respectively. BAT Kenya was the most traded counter with a turnover of KES 157.93 million, followed by the ABSA New Gold ETF at KES 101.58 million.
NSE Bond Market and Derivatives
Activity in the fixed income market softened, with secondary bond market turnover decreasing by 1.7% to KES 17.39 billion from KES 17.69 billion traded previously. The IFB1/2018/15Yr bond was the standout instrument, being both the highest return and the most frequently traded bond of the day.
In contrast, the derivatives market exhibited robust activity and growth. The total volume of contracts traded surged to 240 from 100 in the previous session, representing a growth of 140%. Correspondingly, the total value of traded contracts rose sharply to KES 1.80 million from KES 685,000. Market depth also improved, as indicated by the number of open interest contracts, which rose to 7,110 from 7,040 in the prior trading day.
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