Consolidation and Easing Turnover Mark End of Week
The Nairobi Securities Exchange closed the week on a subdued but positive note, with indices largely consolidating the significant gains achieved earlier in the week. The Nairobi All-Share Index recorded a marginal gain of 0.1%, finishing at . The primary indices followed suit, with the NSE-10, NSE-20, and NSE-25 all showing slight increases of between and . The Market Capitalization remained virtually flat (up ).
Market activity saw a significant cool-down following Wednesday’s high turnover. Equity Turnover dropped sharply by 73.3% to close at KES Mn. This retreat in volumes is typical towards the end of a strong trading week, suggesting a pause before new market drivers emerge. Encouragingly, foreign investors returned to a net buying position, with Net Foreign Flows recording an inflow of KES Mn, a strong reversal of 177.8% from the previous day’s outflow, indicating foreign interest in local assets remains resilient.
Top Gainers: Home Afrika and Umeme Lead the Rally
Home Afrika delivered the strongest performance, soaring by 9.9% to KES . The utility counter Umeme also had an excellent session, gaining 8.2% to KES , completely reversing its loss from the beginning of the week. Media stock Nation Media Group posted a healthy increase of 6.6%, while Crown Paints continued to show strength with a 5.1% rise. This indicates renewed domestic interest in value-oriented and volatile counters.
Top Losers: Oil and Automotive Counters Under Pressure
The largest drop of the day was recorded by Total Kenya, which fell by 7.6% to KES , likely due to profit-taking in the oil marketing sector. Car & General (Automotive/Trading) also saw significant decline, dropping by 5.5%. Flame Tree Group and WPP Scangroup posted losses of and respectively. Finally, Uchumi Supermarkets dropped by 2.9% to KES , ending the week on a weaker note after an earlier mid-week gain.
