The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) posted a 2.28% gain in Week 23 even as foreign investors shifted back to net selling, reversing the previous week’s strong inflows.
Net foreign outflows reached KSh 251.24 million, wiping out the momentum from the prior week when investors injected KSh 1.65 billion, largely driven by a single KSh 1.38 billion block transaction in KCB.
Despite the reversal in foreign flows, market performance remained firm across the board, with all five major indices closing in positive territory. The Banking Index led gains, rising 2.52% to 239.37, while the Nairobi All Share Index advanced 2.28% to 210.37.
Market capitalisation increased by KSh 77.60 billion to reach KSh 3.49 trillion, its strongest level since mid-April.
Banking Stocks Lead Market Advance
Banking counters drove much of the rally. KCB Group climbed 5.99% to KSh 70.75, while Equity Group Holdings rose 4.04% to KSh 77.25. Stanbic Holdings Kenya added 5.75%, and Safaricom PLC gained 3.93%, with heavy turnover of 41.9 million shares.
Strong Equities Rally Amid Rising Rate Signals
The equity market continues to rally even as fixed income signals tightening conditions ahead. Inflation rose to 6.7% in May from 5.6% in April, with non-core inflation climbing sharply to 16%, reflecting mounting cost pressures.
Treasury bill yields continued to climb, with the 91-day at 8.56%, the 182-day at 8.53%, and the 364-day at 8.76%. The June 4 auction saw strong demand, oversubscribed at 227.4% with KSh 54.6 billion in bids against KSh 24 billion on offer.
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Meanwhile, bond prices softened, with the Bond Index falling 2.00% to 1,137.19, its steepest weekly drop in months.
Mixed Performance Across the Market
Turnover declined 29.47% to KSh 3.40 billion, with banking accounting for 50.47% of activity and telecoms contributing 38.72%.
Among notable movers, Longhorn Publishers led gainers with an 8.27% rise, while Jubilee Holdings advanced 7.28%. Car & General Kenya gained 6.94%. On the losers’ side, Sasini PLC dropped 14.97%, while Limuru Tea PLC fell 7.84%.
The shilling remained steady at KSh 129.37 against the dollar, while foreign exchange reserves eased slightly to USD 13.2 billion, equivalent to 5.6 months of import cover.
Eurobond yields moved lower on average, and derivatives activity recorded 7,833 contracts for the week.
