This archive report was first published on 16 August 2019.
On August 15, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) witnessed a significant shift in market activity, with the manufacturing and telecommunication sectors dominating the day's trading.
At a combined total of 94%, these two sectors managed to dislodge banks, which had constituted the previous day's highest trading sector.
Safaricom, the sole listed company in the telco sector at the NSE, was the day's biggest mover, with 11.5 million shares valued at Ksh328 million changing hands. The mobile phone operator's activity represented 66.59% of the day's traded value, with trading taking place at as low as Ksh27.70 and as high as Ksh28.75.
The manufacturing sector also saw significant activity, with shares worth 135 million traded, representing 27.52% of the day's traded value. Highlight firms in the sector's NSE performance included British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya, which had 200,000 shares valued at Ksh103 million, and East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL), which took a 0.86% dip to Ksh201.75 and moved 160,000 shares worth Ksh32 million.
On the other hand, the sector's trading value on the bourse retreated on Thursday, dipping from Ksh803 million to Ksh19 million.
The NSE's turnover for the day stood at Ksh492 million, despite a Ksh993.8 million high at the bourse on Wednesday. The number of shares traded on the spot market stood at 13.9 million, as against the 28.9 million that was posted yesterday.
Despite the dip in turnover, the NSE indicators all posted positive gains, with the All Share Index NASI up 1.12 points to stand at 149.74, the NSE 20 share Index adding 1.42 points to stand at 2539.53, and the NSE 25 Share index picking up 8.37 points to settle at 3578.15.
The bonds market saw bonds worth Ksh1.4 billion traded, while the derivatives market saw a total of three contracts worth Ksh96,000 transacted in both Safaricom & Equity contracts.
