Equities
Foreign investors accounted for 75.05% of total turnover against 24.95% of local participation. Accumulative activities took center-stage, resulting in net inflows worth KES 149.55Mn relative to net inflows worth KES 127.00Mn on Tuesday.
Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (NSE: KCB) recorded a turnover of KES 261.16Mn representing 30.32% of market activity and 41.20% of foreign investor activity, followed by Equity Group Holding Limited (NSE: EQTY) was the day’s highest traded stock, recording a turnover of KES 128.44Mn to account for 15.21% of total market activity and 20.26% of foreign investor activity.
Safaricom Limited (NSE: SCOM) posted the day’s highest net inflows worth KES 56.31Mn and the day’s highest net outflows, worth KES 0.84Mn, were posted by the Cooperative Bank of Kenya Limited (NSE: COOP).
Currencies
In a week strongly influenced by economic data, Wednesday fared no different; with the shilling shedding against all but two of its international and regional peers.
The local currency continued to drop points against the US Dollar, a trend predominant in August, despite lower-than expected core consumer price index (YoY). The dollar turned defense into attack on the day, attributable to revived bets on the US interest rate hike; as a result of Fed minutes to be released later today.
This, however, halted a red-hot run for oil prices and emerging market; restoring doubts on upcoming talks between oil exporter countries. A similar story was illustrated across the pond, after the Kenyan shilling shed against the Sterling Pound and the Euro by 0.58% and 0.59% (respectively).
The pound was buoyed by economic data which showed a 4.8% unemployment rate (as expected), while the Euro continued to rally on the indexed positive six-month economic outlook for the single-currency area; which is based on 350 German institutional investors and analysts.