EQUITY MARKET COMMENTARY
The market closed the week on a mixed note, with the NASI advancing by 0.2%w/w. Conversely, the N10, NSE 20 and NSE 25 eased by 1.4% w/w, 0.3% w/w and 1.2% w/w, respectively.
Market activity declined by 3.9% w/w to USD 14.5m. Safaricom dominated market activity, accounting for 35.4% of the week’s turnover. The counter’s price function strengthened by 3.5% w/w to KES 20.60 as investors priced in news that the Government of Kenya is reportedly planning to sell a significant portion of its stake in Safaricom (currently at 35%), before June 2026 – in efforts to raise the majority of KES 149Bn expected from the privatization of state enterprises. The current stake is worth c. KES 279Bn.
Among the top mover banking stocks, Absa rose by 3.1% w/w to KES 18.30. On the other hand, StanChart and Equity softened by 0.3% w/w and 11.1% w/w to KES 268.50 and KES 43.05, respectively, with the latter closing the week as the worst-performing top mover.
Kenya Power surged by 8.9% w/w to KES 7.84 to close as the week’s best performing mover.
Foreign investors turned bearish, with net outflows of USD 2.7m. Carbacid led the buying charge, while Absa bank led the selling charge. Foreign investor participation edged upwards to 39.0% from 27.9% in the prior week.
Expected in the week: Thursday 5th June 2025 – Stanbic May 2025 Purchasing Managers’ Index
