NASI Depreciates to Close Below 4-month Historical Support

By Soko Directory Team / Published June 29, 2016 | 7:16 am

For the second consecutive day, all market indicators sunk deeper in the red, with most stocks shedding for lack of enough support in the market. The NASI depreciated by 0.63% to close below its 4-month historical support at 139.64 points, while the NSE-25 share index charted a similar trend, losing ground by 0.36%, to close at 3950.24 points.

NSE 20 retreated by 0.70% to close at 3636.64 points. Shareholders’ wealth contracted by 0.64% to settle in at KES 1981.17 billion, with the equity turnover declining by a further 19.96% to close trading at KES 0.30 billion, on account of lower volumes. Williamson Tea Kenya (NSE:WTK) led the gainers pack, with a price appreciation of 6.47% as investors locked in shares ahead of the book closure date slated for 30^thJune 2016, for a dividend of KES 20.00per share.

NIC Bank (NSE: NIC) is doubling its branch network to 50 by the end of next year, in a drive to sign new customers particularly in the small business sector. This move will allow the bank to cut down on its deposit costs and boost margins. The lender has a net interest margin of 6.5%, which lies below the industry trend of 7-10%.

CURRENCIES:

Tuesday’s trading was marked by further strengthening of the shilling against all global currencies under review. The USD-KES remained flat while the Sterling Pound and the Euro weakened by 4.49% and 1.13% respectively, on account of the net effect post the downgrade of UK’s rating by S & P and Moody’s.

Volatility was observed in global markets as investors took off for safer havens. We opine that, the shilling will hold steady and trade around similar levels, buttressed by the Central Bank’s interventions in the money markets, in case of any volatility.

Facts about Co-operative Bank

Strong profitability in line with the projected 20% growth in profits before taxes.
Slashed cost to income ratio from 58.8% in Dec 2015 to 51% in March 2016
Non-performing loans were down by 3.1% as loan loss provisions rose by 78.6%
Transformation project is expected to yield fruit going forward with loans and advances and customer deposits anticipated to grow by 19% and 20%, respectively.
Regional expansion is also a key growth catalyst.

About Soko Directory Team

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system.Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

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