Market turnover climbed to 1.6 billion shillings driven largely by trades on the long-dated papers FXD2/2018/10 (400 million shillings) and IFB1/2018/20(500 million shillings).
The bid/ask spread on the infrastructure bonds remains wide on account of the last run, where the shorter tenures were trading close to 11 percent while the longer tenures were at mid-11 percent levels; bids on these have since risen to 11.40 percent and 12 percent respectively.
The local unit strengthened slightly yesterday to close at 101.6, within the expected trading range this week. The overnight rate moved to new lows of 1.5 percent on thinner volumes.
Foreign investors continue to be dominant in the market which is expected to hold with trading in the main index counters holding onto the buying side.
There are trades by a few local funds and we expect more local funds to come in as the quarter unfolds. However, without pressure from either sides of trading.
“We expect the prices to relatively hold at current levels till the end of the week. We anticipate the market to continue the current steady but slow uptrend that has been the case for the past week on the back of moderate foreign demand,” said analysts from Genghis Capital.