The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) maintained a positive outlook as of July 24, 2025, with its major indices posting modest gains and trading volumes consolidating a steady upward trend.
Investor confidence remains relatively high, buoyed by supportive macroeconomic factors, improved corporate performance, and growing interest from both local and foreign participants.
Data for mid-July shows the NSE All Share Index (NASI) and the more concentrated NSE 25 and NSE 10 indices continuing to register increases. On July 16, the NSE 25 and NSE 10 had climbed approximately 0.4% and 0.3% respectively, while the NSE 20 edged down slightly by 0.3%.This reflects healthy breadth across sectors, with banking stocks particularly driving gains.
Trading activity has gained momentum, with average daily share volumes rising by about 8.7% to 20.85 million shares, and turnover increasing 13.7% to KSh 480.9 million compared to earlier sessions.These figures underline improving market liquidity, offering more depth and greater ease for entry and exit.
Foreign investor participation remains meaningful, despite a slight dip in their share of traded volume from about 29.7% down to 8.8% they contributed net positive inflows of KSh 49.95 million in recent sessions, reversing earlier outflows.
Analysts attribute renewed foreign interest to Kenya’s macro stability, better corporate earnings, and its inclusion in global benchmarks like MSCI.
Longer-term, the NSE has achieved robust performance. During 2024 and into mid-2025, the exchange consistently outperformed its regional peers when measured in dollar terms.
In 2024 alone, market capitalization rose by nearly Ksh 400 billion reaching approximately Ksh 1.9 trillion while NASI and the NSE 20 index posted double-digit returns of around 29% and 28% respectively.Between January and June 2025, NASI further surged 22%, with the NSE 20 gaining 18.5%, NSE 10 up 14.3%, and NSE 25 rising 13.9%.
Sectoral performance remains strong: energy and petroleum recorded some of the highest returns, while the banking segment also posted solid growth thanks to robust earnings from interest-bearing assets and dividend payouts.
Market reforms over the past year including cleared dollar repatriation challenges, upgraded FTSE Russell classification, and new index reviews have further enhanced accessibility and attractiveness to foreign capital.
Despite domestic political unrest and economic hurdles including protests and fiscal pressures the NSE has demonstrated resilience. Commentary from the exchange’s leadership underlines that investor confidence has held firm, supported by stable currency, lower domestic interest rates, Eurobond repayments, and improved corporate performance.
Looking ahead, market experts remain cautiously optimistic. The equities market is expected to remain active in the short to mid-term, supported by corporate earnings updates, potential new listings, continued foreign inflows, and further adoption of derivative products such as single-stock futures.However, vulnerabilities persist, notably Kenya’s fiscal constraints, external economic shocks, and political noise.
As of July 24, the Nairobi bourse stands on a solid foundation, balancing strong structural gains with emerging risks. The current environment promotes a stable investment premise, positioning the NSE as a prime frontier market destination in Africa even as stakeholders remain vigilant to headwinds.
This dynamic poses opportunities for investors and issuers alike, promising further evolution for Africa’s premier securities platform in the coming quarters.
Written By Ian Maleve
