Market activity on the Nairobi Securities exchange (NSE) eased during the week as investors cautiously traded on volatility of global markets and increasing data of the new strain of the coronavirus. Foreign investors held majority position in trading this week, accounting for 68.4% of the week’s total trading activity. Foreign activity was high on the main blue-chip counters.
Total Market Volume for the week stood at 88.28 million shares against a volume of 79.80 million shares transacted in the previous week. The market capitalization of the NSE posted a marginal decline of 0.48% at Kes 2.39 trillion from the 2.38 trillion posted the previous week, attributed to the drop in prices in East African Breweries Plc & Bamburi Plc.
NSE Index Performance
The benchmark NSE All Share Index (NASI) closed Friday at 155.59, representing a week on week (W/W) gain of 0.48%, a 4-week month to month (M/M) gain of 2.29% and an overall year-to-date (YTD) gain of 2.29%. The NSE20 share index shed 5.32 points or 0.28% while the NSE25 share index was up by 2.24 points or 0.07% to close the week at 1,881.91 and 3,434.52 points respectively.
The NSE 20 and the NSE25 share indices have gained up-to 0.72% and 0.56% respectively in year to date performance.
Safaricom was the most active counter by turnover, accounting for 49.85% of the week’s traded value as the share saw a 0.84% gain in share price to close the week at Kes 35.85 per share, the company traded shares valued at Kes 1.2 billion. The banking sector followed in activity with 995 million worth of shares transacted, translating to 39.52% of the week’s traded value. Coming in third was the manufacturing and allied sector, with shares worth 154 million transacted.
Nairobi Business Ventures was the week’s top gainer, adding 17.97% in shareholder wealth to close the week at a price of Kes 5.58 per share while Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc bottomed out as the week’s top looser, shedding 10.18% in share price performance to close the week at Kes 1.50 per share.
During the week, the central bank of Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee retained the benchmark lending rate at 7.00 percent.
The Derivatives Market of the Nairobi Securities Exchange closed the week with a total of 67 contracts valued at Kes. 6.5 million transacted, this was a rise in transaction value from the 58 contracts valued at Kes.2.6 million posted in the preceding week.
Trading on the secondary bond market at the Nairobi Securities Exchange posted a 615.86% rise in activity with Kes.34.94 billion worth of bonds traded against the Kes 4.88 billion worth of bonds transacted in the previous week.
