The market slipped into the new week on a softer footing, even as Uchumi powered to yet another milestone.
By midday, the retailer was changing hands at KSh 0.79, up 6.76 percent, after touching KSh 0.81 earlier in the session, a price last seen in February 2019. Its year-to-date surge has now blasted past 360 percent, fuelled almost entirely by feverish speculative trading.
Total turnover hit KSh 396 million from 15 million shares. Safaricom once again dwarfed the rest of the market, clocking KSh 351 million from 11 million shares. Co-operative Bank followed at KSh 9.6 million, with Equity Bank on KSh 7 million.
Foreign investors were net sellers by midday. Buys amounted to KSh 65 million, heavily concentrated in Safaricom at KSh 50 million. Co-operative Bank and DTB drew KSh 5.9 million and KSh 5.3 million in foreign inflows respectively.
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Meanwhile, foreign sells reached KSh 164 million, with Safaricom accounting for a hefty KSh 155 million. Equity Bank posted KSh 5.3 million in outflows and DTB KSh 3.5 million.
The NASI was down 0.92 percent at 12:15pm.
Here’s the midday snapshot.
| Segment | Highlights |
|---|---|
| Top Movers (Gainers) | Umeme (+9.97%), Longhorn (+7.01%), Flame Tree (+6.10%); Kapchorua, NewGold and NSE also on the rise |
| Top Laggards | Olympia Capital (–9.82%), ScanGroup (–6.09%), KCB (–4.67%) |
| Turnover Leaders | Safaricom (KSh 351M), Co-op Bank (KSh 9.6M), Equity Bank (KSh 7M) |
| Foreign Activity | Buys: KSh 65M (Safaricom leads). Sells: KSh 164M (Safaricom again dominant). |
| Index Performance | NASI down 0.92% |
Midweek trading will show whether Uchumi’s speculative climb still has oxygen or whether gravity finally taps it on the shoulder.
