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NAIROBI (Xinhua) --
At least 14 stocks that make up the
Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) 20 Share Index went up
on Monday lifting the indicator 20 points up in a
session dominated by local investors.
The
benchmark index closed the day at 4,089.00 as it
gravitated towards the 4,100 mark and sustained upward
momentum from last week.
Among the
stocks that pushed up the index was Kenya’s leading
telecom Safaricom, which gained 1 percent to close at a
new high of 0.26 U.S. dollars. However during the
session, the telecom touched at an all-best price of
0.27 dollars.
Athi River
Mining, Kengen, Kenya Airways and Standard Chartered
Bank were other stocks that rose at between 1 percent
and 4 percent.
However,
Safaricom was the top traded stock after moving 4.6
million shares followed by CIC insurance at 1.8 million
shares, Kenya Commercial Bank 1.2 million, NIC 1 million
and Kengen 722,500 shares.
Similarly,
the NSE All Share Index closed the session higher at
173.47 points up from 172.31 in the previous session.
However,
equity turnover declined 46 percent to 3.7 million
dollars on a volume of 13 million shares down from 26
million worth 7 million dollars in the previous
session.
Foreign
investors participation stood at 30 percent while local
70 percent.
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EARLIER REPORT:
Kenya shilling positive
as top court hears presidential poll petition
By Bedah Mengo NAIROBI (Xinhua)
-- The Kenya shilling
strengthened on Monday against the U.S. dollar as it
remained positive following the hearing of a petition
challenging the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta
at the Supreme Court.
The shilling
gained by 0.14 percent on Monday to stand at an average
of 103.2, up from 103.3 at the end of last week.
The Central
Bank of Kenya quoted the shilling at 103.15, a rise from
103.25 in the previous session last Friday.
Commercial
banks, on the other hand, placed the value of the
currency at an even stronger position of between 103.05
and 103.20, with traders noting the currency was stable
as the Supreme Court case filed by Opposition leader
Raila Odinga goes on.
The shilling
appreciated against the dollar by 0.1 percent last week
to close at 103.3 from 103.4 the previous week.
According to
Cytonn, a Nairobi-based investment firm, the direction
the shilling will take in the following weeks will
mainly be determined by the happenings at the Supreme
Court.
“In coming
weeks, the outcome of the election petition will play a
role in determining the performance of the shilling in
the short-term,” said Cytonn on Monday.
It added
that investors who had bought dollars for speculative
purposes in the run up to elections are also continuing
to sell in the market and buying back the shilling
helping to stabilize it. |
