Foreign Investors Dominate the NSE on Tuesday as the Shilling Sheds Points

The foreign investors accounted for 70.02 percent of total turnover against 29.98 percent of local participation.

Accumulative activities took center-stage, resulting in net inflows worth 1.06 million shillings relative to net outflows worth 8.31 million shillings on Monday.

Safaricom Limited (NSE: SCOM) recorded a turnover of 210.83 million shillings, representing 49.39 percent of total activity and 70.53 percent of foreign investor activity; as the day’s highest traded stock followed by Equity Group Holdings Limited (NSE: EQTY), which recorded a turnover of 38.31 million shillings to account for 8.97 percent of total market activity and 12.82 percent of foreign investor activity.

Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (NSE: KCB) posted the day’s highest net inflows worth 7.51 million shillings whereas, the day’s highest net outflows, worth KES 5.85Mn, was posted by Safaricom Limited (NSE: SCOM).

The Kenyan shilling on the other hand shed significant points against its basket of currencies, most notably the South African rand in which it weakened by 1.83 percent. The rand remained stable in the early hours of trading today (Tuesday), with dealers and traders expecting investors to adopt a stand-off approach before Thursday’s policy rate decisions and Moody’s credit rating the following day.

Later in the day, the ZARKES pair begun to face significant volatility as commodity currencies were boosted by stronger metal prices; most notably a push in price for copper and iron ore. The USDKES pair continued to weaken, by 0.02 percent on the day, despite what appears to be the end of a two-week bullish run for dollar; partly due to profit-takers and an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in northern Japan, causing a knee-jerk selling of the dollar and buying of the yen.

In Europe, the local currency weakened against both the Sterling pound and the Euro by 1.07 percent and 0.32 percent; as market sentiments are dominated by the possibility of pro-EU members of parliament using their numbers to obstruct the Brexit process.