The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) closed Thursday’s trading session on a mixed note, with major indices posting gains despite a significant drop in market turnover.
Total turnover stood at KES 288.6 million, less than half of Wednesday’s KES 562.5 million, reflecting reduced investor activity.
The NSE 20 Share Index rose by 34.95 points to settle at 3090.70, while the All Share Index (NASI) inched up by 1.74 points to 184.97.
The NSE 25 Share Index climbed by 63.08 points to close at 4900.89. However, the Banking Index slipped by 2.61 points to end the day at 155.02, signaling mild weakness in financial counters.
Among top gainers, Express Kenya led with an 8.53% jump to KES 7.38, followed by Crown Paints, which rose 7.46% to KES 54.00.
Sameer Africa and BK Group posted gains of 7.39% and 5.59% respectively. On the losing end, Uchumi Supermarkets fell 5.41% to KES 0.35, while ScanGroup shed 1.75% to close at KES 2.80.
The banking sector dominated trading, accounting for 47% of the day’s total value. Equity Group gained 4.96% to close at KES 63.50, while NCBA edged down 0.61% to KES 81.50. I&M Group ticked up slightly to KES 43.80.
Energy and petroleum counters recorded a turnover of KES 39.9 million, driven by KenGen and KPLC, which closed at KES 10.00 and KES 13.45 respectively. Safaricom maintained its firm footing in the telecommunications sector, ending marginally higher at KES 29.55 on KES 74 million worth of trades.
The bond market registered KES 7.7 billion in trades, while derivatives saw 539 contracts worth KES 2.6 million exchanged, underscoring a cautious but active trading sentiment across markets.
