This archive report was first published on 1 July 2019.
On July 1, 2019, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) reported a 30 percent decline in turnover to Sh32.9 billion in the second quarter of the year.
Market data compiled by Standard Investment Bank (SIB) shows that the average daily traded turnover in the market declined from Sh780 million in the second quarter of 2018 to Sh539 million this year.
Local participation in the market has also declined, with foreign investors accounting for 71 percent of turnover in the three months, compared to 61.7 percent in the second quarter of last year.
Foreign investors made net inflows of Sh1.3 billion during the quarter, largely due to heavy buying activity in May when their net inflows stood at Sh2.2 billion.
However, last month, the foreign investors made net sales of Sh894 million, while in April they had net buys of Sh35.8 million.
Activity by local retail investors has been hurt by the decline in share prices in the market this year, with the benchmark NSE 20-Share Index down by 7.5 percent during the quarter.
Other investment classes, such as fixed income, are offering a positive return, with Treasury bonds offering rates of between 10.9 and 12.9 percent, and short-term Treasury bills standing between 6.8 and 9.5 percent.
