NSE 20 Closes the Week at 3462.56 Points

Market activity improved this week as total turnover climbed to KES 3.8Bn on a volume of 159Mn shares, up from KES.1.7bn on a volume of 78Mn shares posted previously. The NSE 20 Share Index gained 0.38% to settle at 3462.56 points during the week.

All Share Index (NASI) increased to 146.75 points during the week to stand at 146.75. The NSE 25 Share Index was up 0.60% to 3949.14 18.38 points during the week to stand at 3925.58.

Safaricom was among the top gainers this week as investors rushed to buy the stock to pocket the total dividend of KES 1.44 per share, which consists of the final dividend of 76 cents declared for the financial year ending March, and a 68 cent interim dividend to be paid for the financial year ending March 2017.

The books for both dividends are closing on September 2, and they will be paid on December 1. Safaricom has gained 16 per cent, equivalent to Sh2.90 per share, since the announcement of the special or interim dividend on July 26.

Fixed Income: 

Treasury bill rates continued their uptrend which started a month ago just as per our previous expectations, driven mainly by the increasing government domestic borrowing. The 91-day paper climbed to 8.61% from 8.54%, the 182-day paper added 1.93% to settle at 11.02% from 10.81% before. The 364-day paper ascended to 11.68% from 11.41% earlier. The treasury bills are likely to continue edging up as the returns prove attractive to investors who have stayed away from the equities market due to its poor performance since the beginning of the year.

Currencies:

The Kenya shilling gained albeit slightly against the US dollar this week as it ended the five days of trading at a mean of KES 101.37 up from an average of KES 101.47 previously. The shilling’s stability was due to inflows from agricultural exports as well as those from the non-governmental organizations and hard currency inflows into a 10-year treasury bond worth KES 25 billon currently on sale. Its direction in the short-term is expected to be determined by the level of dollar inflows from horticulture exports and non-governmental organizations and a probable increase in demand for the dollars by importers as the end of month draws near.