On Wednesday, February 11, 2026, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) experienced a massive surge in retail participation following the official launch of Safaricom’s Ziidi Trader. While institutional turnover saw a decline, the number of individual transactions reached record-breaking levels. The Nairobi All-Share Index (NASI) closed the day at 208.80 points, a 1.8% rise from the previous session.
NSE Top gainers
The market rally was characterized by a broad surge with 43 gainers in total. Sasini led the gainers with its third consecutive winning session, climbing 9.9% to close at KES 26.75. The banking sector provided substantial market support through Diamond Trust Bank, which surged 9.6% to reach a closing price of KES 148.50. Limuru Tea also recorded significant gains, advancing 7.8% to end the day at KES 528.00. Rounding out the top performers were Eveready Plc., which rose 7.7% to KES 1.53, and Car & General, which appreciated by 7.4% to finish at KES 61.50
NSE Top losers
KenGen Plc slid by 3.3% to close at KES 9.28 this decline followed the release of interim results showing a decrease in net earnings. Following KenGen was Olympia Capital Holdings who experienced a 2.0% decline, closing at KES 7.70. NCBA Group, fell 1.63% to KES 90.25, and BK Group (BKG), slipped 1.53% to KES 45.00. HF Group posted a marginal 1.0% decline to close at KES 10.30, while Africa Mega Agricorp Plc also registered a modest 1.0% drop, ending the session at KES 98.75.
The market’s upward trajectory was further supported by gains in heavyweight large-cap stocks, including Equity Group, which advanced 5.1%, and Safaricom, which closed 2.3% higher. Additionally, notable performance was seen in Eveready Plc and Car & General, which posted gains of 7.7% and 7.4% respectively.
While the total equity turnover fell by 24.9% to KES 1.83 billion (and share volume dropped by 38%), the number of deals improved by a staggering 75%, totaling 23,192 transactions.
This Ziidi Effect highlights the immediate impact of making the stock market accessible via the M-PESA App. We can see that despite lower turnover, the surge in deals indicates that thousands of small investors are now executing smaller trades
As retail participation spiked, foreign investors turned into net sellers, recording net outflows of KES 650.88 million. Foreigners were particularly active in selling Safaricom and East African Breweries PLC shares.
Despite this foreign exit, the market was buoyed by local participation, which accounted for 54.6% of the day’s activity. Safaricom remained the most traded counter, clocking an aggregate turnover of KES 612.02 million and a volume of 11.7 million shares
Also read: NSE Market Report: NASI Advances 0.6% as all Indices Close in the Green
