NSE Investors Back on Uchumi Counter as Market Slows

NSE (Nairobi Securities Exchange) closed the week with mixed signals, reflecting both pockets of opportunity as well as caution by local and foreign investors.

High speculative activity was evidenced in several counters that saw the lifting Uchumi supermarkets as the week’s top gainer, a strong upward movement in share price that was up 37.3% to KSh 1.84. Despite negative news concerning its past governance structure as well as shutting down of most of its prime outlets, investors have remained excited by this counter.

Other weekly top gainers were Shri Krishana Overseas, which was up 32.85% to KSh 11.00, Eaagads Limited which rose 18.99% to KSh 31.95, CIC Insurance which gained 12.32% to KSh 6.20 and Flame Tree Group, which was up 12.22% to KSh 2.02.

NSE Top Losers

The week’s top loser was Eveready, which was down 19.2% to KSh 1.35, a retreat after its recent gains.

Other top losers were Sasini Plc, which fell 12.445 to KSh 27.10, Nation Media Group which declined 6.695 to KSh 14.65, Express Kenya which lost 6.46% to close the week at KSh 7.82 and Kenya Airways which declined 5.845 to KSh 5.16.

All benchmark indices fell with the NSE 20 down 0.295 to 3,622.57, the NSE 10 declined 3.51% to 2172.95, the NSE 25 down 2.62% to 5701.79 while the Bank index fell 1.945 to 232.53.

The NSE had 22 gainers and 32 losers while the price on 13 counters remained unchanged during the week. The NASI was down 3.14% to 209.9 as the market pulled back slightly after making historic gains in recent weeks. Market Capitalization, which measures total investor wealth declined 3.14% to KSh 3.31 trillion.

The NSE closed the week ended February 20^th 2026, with loses in all the five trading days, the first full week decline in over 11 months. The NSE lost KSh 107.47 billion in investors wealth from a KSh 220.31 billion gain recorded the prior week.

Equity turnover declined 21% to KSh 5.81 billion as investors displayed some hesitation while bond turnover increased 52% to KSh 113.44 billion as investors sought after more lucrative debt instruments that offer more predictable returns.

While foreign investor activity remains volatile, local investors continue to drive daily activity at the NSE, a sign of growth and conviction by local investors. Foreign investors were net seller, pulling out KSh 855.42 million from the Nairobi bourse.

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