NASI Ends the Week 2.71 Points Lower to Stand at 138.30 Points.

Market activity during the week witnessed a slight increase when compared to its performance previously. Turnover rose to KES. 3.1bn on a volume of 124Mn shares, against KES. 2.7bn on 90 Mn shares posted the previous week. The NSE 20 Share Index shaved-off 91.48 points or 2.48% during the week to settle at 3596.98 points. All Share Index (NASI) ended the week 2.71 points lower to stand at 138.30 points. The NSE 25 Share Index dropped 97.94 points or 2.46% during the week to settle at 3886.94 points.

Equity Group Holdings was the most heavily traded counter in the banking sector during the week with 25.7M shares changing hands at between KES 37.50 and KES 40.00. KCB Group was busy moving 11.3Mn shares during the week at between KES.31.00 and KES.33.50. Barclays bank up five cents to KES.10.05 had 7.5Mn shares traded during the week.

Britam Holdings recorded a 5.17% loss during the week to settle at KES.13.75 on a volume of 8.1Mn shares. CIC Insurance was down 5.32% to KES.4.45 moved 1.2Mn shares.

KenolKobil declined by 2.34% during the week to settle at KES 10.45 on a volume of 1.8Mn shares. Kenya Power & Lighting closed the week 10.20% lower to KES.8.80 on a volume of 1Mn shares. KenGen unchanged at KES.6.70 moved 1.4Mn shares.

Fixed Income:

The Bond Market witnessed an upswing in activity with bonds worth KES 8.3 billion transacted compared to KES 2.7 billion posted the previous week. The government short-term bills reversed their three months slide as per our previous week’s predictions except for the one year paper which declined slightly. The 91-day paper increased to 7.65% from 7.03% seen last week, the 182-day paper was up further to 9.91% from 9.39% before. The 364-day paper dropped marginally to 10.87% from 10.95% earlier. The short-term interest rates are likely to trend upwards going forward as this fiscal year’s budgetary needs kick in even though the government seeks to keep interest rates low in the market.

Currencies:

The Kenyan shilling changed slightly against the US dollar as it slid to a mean of 101.34 down from an average of 101.17 on Friday last week. The marginal change was due to importers demand for the greenback being balanced out by the traders feel that there was a likelihood of the Central Bank of Kenya selling the US currency. The Shilling lost 0.63% and 3.22% against the Euro and the Sterling respectively as news of a New Britain Prime Minister, Theresa May, took effect. Her entry is anticipated to provide a steadier political environment in the UK after the Brexit vote.