Low trading day at Nairobi bourse as key index in free fall

Some 15 million shares valued at 3.5 million U.S. dollars were traded at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) Thursday, a low day marked by a further drop in the 20 Share Index.

The banking sector for the third consecutive trading session remained the biggest mover, with the sector having 6 million shares changing hands, representing 41 percent of the day's traded volume.

However, on Wednesday, the sector had 9.3 million shares traded, representing 57 percent of the day's traded volume.

Equity Group Holdings was the most heavily traded counter under the category Thursday, with 4.2 million shares changing hands at between 0.39 dollars and 0.40 dollars.

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group, which was the biggest mover Wednesday, closed the day at 0.43 dollars, a marginal rise, on a volume of 754,000 shares.

Co-operative Bank, on the other hand, was down 1.2 percent to 0.20 dollars and moved 710,000 shares.

The commercial and services sector had 1.4 million shares traded, and accounted for 10 percent of the day's traded volume while the investment sector moved 1.7 million shares, and the energy and petroleum sector had 828,000 shares.

The NSE 20 Share Index went further down 8.01 points to stand at 3,901.45, as its downward spiral continued from a peak of 4,054 last week.