Safaricom And Equity Bolster NSE To A 39-Month High

Despite the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic that is sweeping across the world, the Nairobi Securities Exchange seems to be sailing through with its neck above the turbulent waters with wealth hitting a 39-month high.

When Covid-19, the NSE was the first to be hard hit with investors panicked and sold their shares to invest in more secure ventures such as gold. But as the country started to come to terms and opened up, things are now leveled up.

On Thursday, the wealth at the NSE hit a 39-month high with 101.6 billion shillings having been added in the past month. The rise in wealth has been attributed to the resilient performance of Safaricom PLC and Equity Group.

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On Thursday, the NSE value in terms of wealth stood at 2.785 trillion shillings. This was the highest level in more than two years. The last time the value stood at such levels was on April 16, 2018, when it was at 2.784 trillion shillings.

Safaricom PLC added investors 54.09 billion shillings between the month of May and Thursday. Equity Bank Group, on the other hand, added investors 14.34 billion shillings during the same period. The two accounted for 67.7 percent of NSE gain.

Kenya Commercial Bank added investors 7.71 billion shillings between the month of May and Thursday. At the same time, the Co-operative Bank of Kenya added 7.63 billion shillings to the gain. Banks are doing well at the NSE.

The four stocks, Safaricom, Equity, KCB Group, and Co-operative Bank of Kenya now account for 75.6 percent of the NSE wealth — together adding 83.77 billion shillings in market capitalization in the last month. Investors now have confidence.

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With the Covid-19 vaccine having been rolled out, it is expected that the markets will bloom. However, analysts are worried about few companies dominating the NSE.