Kenyan Shilling Slumps against Six Comparables

Currency

The shilling delved furthered into the red, registering losses against all but one of its international and regional peers. The USDKES pair continued its downward trend, by 0.02% on the day, despite the dollar holding near 1-week lows. The greenback remained defensive amidst uncertainty over the timing of the next U.S. interest rate hike and data showing that the jobless claims fell slightly less than expected last week. Across the pond, the shilling shed against the Euro by 0.78% to close trading at 113.40; however, more shockingly the local currency bucked a rallying trend against the Sterling Pound, by 0.52% on the day. On the regional front, the shilling produced mixed results, rallying against the Tanzanian shilling by b0.03% and shedding against the Ugandan shilling by 0.09%.

Read: Kenyan Shilling Furthers Losses Against US Dollar

Foreign Investor Participation

The foreign investors accounted for 56.13% of total turnover against 43.87% of local participation. Accumulative activities took center-stage, resulting in net inflows worth KES 15.33Mn relative to net inflows worth KES 0.35Mn on Wednesday.

Foreign investors accounted for 56.13% of the total NSE turnover. Foreign investors engaged in net accumulative activity, resulting in net inflows worth KES 15.33Mn.

Safaricom Limited (NSE: SCOM) which recorded a turnover of KES 50.01Mn representing 29.98% activity and 33.02% of foreign investor activity, followed by Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (NSE: KCB) was the day’s highest traded stock, recording a turnover of KES 36.98Mn to account for 22.17% of total market activity and 24.41% of foreign investor activity.

Safaricom Limited (NSE: SCOM) posted the day’s highest net inflows worth KES 13.22Mn and the day’s highest net outflows, worth KES 22.64Mn, were posted by the Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (NSE: KCB).