Shilling Strikes High Chord Against five of Seven international and Regional peers

Currency

The Kenyan shilling started the week striking a high chord against five of the seven international and regional peers. The local currency shed 0.02 percent against the US dollar albeit the weak September labor data that was announced in the US on Friday.

Rhetoric surrounding trigger of Article 50 that will lead to formal Britain exit from EU has proved to be the headwind for the Pound’s dismal performance in the last few days. The trend was not different in the day’s trading session as the shilling gained 1.72 percent against the British Pound.

The local currency erased 0.12 percent against the Euro currency to close the day at 113.33. On the regional front, the shilling weakened 0.98 percent against the South African Rand as the rand rallied on the lower-than-expected US jobs data. The local currency gained 0.13 percent and 0.12 percent against the Ugandan shilling and Tanzanian shilling, respectively.

Equities

The foreign investors accounted for 63.61 percent of total turnover against 36.39 percent of local participation at the NSE on Monday.

Distribution activities took center-stage, resulting in net outflows worth 281.98 million shillings relative to net inflows worth 138.59 million shillings that was witnessed on Friday.

Safaricom Limited (NSE: SCOM) which recorded a turnover of 459.23 million representing 45.45 percent of total activity and 71.44 percent of foreign investor activity, was the day’s heavily traded stock by foreigners, followed by Equity Group Holding Limited (NSE: EQTY) recording a turnover of 122.02 million shillings to account for 12.08 percent of total market activity and 18.98 percent of foreign investor activity.

East Africa Breweries Limited (NSE: EABL) posted the day’s highest net inflows worth 12.01 million shillings and the day’s highest net outflows, worth 298.80 million shillings, were posted by the Safaricom Limited (NSE: SCOM).

The unemployment rate on the other hand edged up to 5.00 percent whereas the non-farm payroll data came in at 156,000 – 12,000 less than the expected 167,000; data which ebbed eroded expectation of a rate hike in the December meeting.

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