Banks drive NSE weekly trading to Sh3.4 billion

Weekly turnover at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) rose to Ksh3.4 billion in the week ended March 22, driven by busy activity from the banking sector. Last week, the bourse had an equity turnover of Ksh3 billion.

With the banking sector moving shares worth Ksh1.5 billion over the five trading days, lenders managed to account for 43.50% of the week’s total traded value.

The improved activity from banks seems to be a reaction from a court ruling last week that froze the interest rate cap, leaving banks with free rein and in turn attracting investors.

A rise in volume of shares at the bourse also saw the number of stocks traded during the week jump from the 110 million shares posted during the previous week to end Friday on 121 million shares.

The upward trend in activity also infected the Bond market, which rose by Ksh1 billion to end the week on Ksh14 billion.

NSE Indices

The All Share Index rose for the second day in a row, with a 1.22% rise to stand at 160.00.

The NSE 25 Share Index also finished in the green zone, adding 39.13 points to settle at 3979.24.

Finishing in the red zone was the NSE 20 share Index, which was down 8.87 points to stand at 2887.17.

Friday’s Trading

Investors wealth at the NSE on March 22 stood at Ksh2.39 trillion, shedding marginally from the previous trading session.

Equity turnover as against Thursday’s trading rose to Ksh523 million, while volume of shares slumped to Ksh18.6 million. The bourse saw 839 equity deals in total.

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