Nairobi bourse bear-run pushes benchmark index to five-year low

Some 69 million shares valued at 18 million U.S. dollars were traded at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) Tuesday, down from 87 million shares worth 19 million dollars in the previous session as the indicative 20 Share Index touched a five-year low.

The NSE 20 Share Index, which tracks the performance of 20 best performing stocks, closed Tuesday at 3,116.82, a level last seen in 2011, due to a down spiral of key stocks.

However, while the bear-run persists, prices of banking stocks which are responsible for the current slump, begun to stabilize, with Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) gaining 4 percent to end the day at 0.26 dollars after moving 12.4 million shares.

Equity Group Holdings was the day's biggest mover, with 30 million shares exchanging hands at between 0.24 dollars and 0.27 dollars.

The banking sector in total moved 52 million shares, mainly foreign outflows.

In the manufacturing sector, a total of 1.3 million shares exchanged hands, with East African Breweries Ltd contributing 834,000 shares at a declined price of 2.5 dollars.

As the benchmark index, the NSE All Share Index shed 0.18 points to settle at 133.32 while the NSE 25 Share Index was down 20.08 points to stand at 3,424.36.

The bond market witnessed improved activity, with bonds worth 25 million dollars transacted.

Source : XINHUA