Trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) picked up sharply on Thursday, with equity turnover rising 82.60% to Ksh 1.18 billion, according to NSE data. All five of the exchange’s main indices closed higher.
Foreign investors were back on the buying side. They bought Ksh 142.10 million more in shares than they sold, a reversal from the previous session, when they were net sellers of Ksh 10.82 million. The value of foreign trading more than doubled to Ksh 254.84 million, the exchange said.
Institutional investors such as pension funds, insurers and fund managers accounted for 72.51% of the day’s trading, leaving retail investors with 27.49%. Institutions were also net buyers, adding Ksh 126.66 million in shares.
The number of shares traded rose 41.87% to 24.39 million. Because the value of trading grew about twice as fast as the number of shares, investors were putting more money into higher-priced stocks than in the previous session.
The NSE 20 led the gains with a rise of 0.79%, followed by the NSE 10 at 0.65%, the NSE 25 at 0.52% and the NSE All Share Index at 0.51%. Banking stocks rose 0.44%.
SKL was the day’s top gainer at 5.78%, followed by UMME at 4.59%. CARB fell the most, down 3.26%, followed by BOC at 2.37% and NMG at 1.51%.
Everyday-sized trades carried much of the activity. Deals of Ksh 100,000 or less made up almost every transaction and close to 59% of turnover, and no single trade exceeded Ksh 5 million, the NSE reported. On the Ziidi Trader platform, 3,341 of 3,988 orders were filled, generating Ksh 18.42 million in turnover.
The bond market moved the other way. Bond turnover fell 19.15% to Ksh 16.93 billion, which the NSE linked to weaker demand and lower institutional participation. Even so, bonds traded more than 14 times the value of equities. Derivatives trading dropped 94.60% to Ksh 1.35 million, with contracts falling to 370 from 2,000.
The Friday Close is Sable Africa’s weekly read on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. We help the world understand Africa.