By Andrew Kariuki
Trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange closed on a mixed note Wednesday, with fewer gainers than losers as overall market activity declined.
BOC Kenya emerged as the top gainer of the session, rising 4.83% to close at Ksh152.00 per share. Unga Group followed with a 3.23% gain to Ksh28.75, while Sasini Tea and Coffee advanced 2.20% to Ksh27.90.
Co-operative Bank of Kenya and Centum Investment Company also posted gains of 2.17% and 2.16%, closing at Ksh32.90 and Ksh14.20 respectively, with Crown Paints rounding off the top gainers at 1.72%.
On the losing side, Eaagads led the decliners, dropping 6.82% to Ksh30.05. Olympia Capital Holdings fell 5.73% to Ksh7.24, while Uchumi Supermarket declined 4.21% to Ksh1.82.
Longhorn Publishers and Nation Media Group also recorded losses of 3.73% and 3.41%, closing at Ksh3.10 and Ksh14.15 respectively, while Kenya Pipeline Company shed 2.73% to Ksh9.26.
A total of 13,331,345 shares were traded in 11,900 deals, translating to a market value of Ksh347,414,437.28. This represented a 32% decline in traded volume and a 23% drop in turnover compared to the previous trading session, despite an 18% increase in the number of deals.
In terms of trading activity, Co-operative Bank of Kenya recorded the highest volume with 2.82 million shares traded, followed by Safaricom at 2.44 million shares and Kenya Airways at 1.48 million shares. Kenya Re-Insurance Corporation also saw notable activity with 1.30 million shares exchanged.
Overall, 57 listed equities participated in trading, with 17 gainers against 25 losers, reflecting a cautious market sentiment.
The benchmark NSE All Share Index (NASI) declined by 0.91 points (0.44%) to close at 207.57. Despite the dip, the index still reflects a 0.6% gain over the past week, a 1.93% gain over four weeks, and an 11.25% increase year-to-date.
Other indices also recorded slight declines, with the NSE 10 Share Index dropping 0.11%, the NSE 20 Share Index falling 0.25%, the NSE 25 Share Index shedding 0.27%, and the NSE Banking Sector Index declining 0.4%.
The session underscores continued selectivity in the market, with investors focusing on specific counters amid broader mixed performance.
