Investors’ wealth on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) hit an all-time high yesterday, adding Sh70.24billion in a single day, buoyed by a rally of Safaricom and bank stocks.
Market data shows the market recorded the sixth straight day of gains to close valued at Sh2.921 trillion— the highest in the history of the bourse.
Safaricom #ticker:SCOM, Equity #ticker:EQTY, KCB #ticker:KCB, and East African Breweries Limited #ticker:EABL (EABL) stocks led in the rally and added investors Sh99.57 billion between Wednesday last week and Tuesday, accounting for 92. percent of the Sh107.72 billion gained on the NSE during this period.
The four now have a joint market value of Sh2.301 trillion or 78.8 percent of combined NSE wealth, with their shares having appreciated by between 0.6 percent and 6.9 percent since last Wednesday.
Geoffrey Odundo, the chief executive officer of the NSE, attributed the historic rally to a rebounding economic environment and investor confidence in the business models adopted by firms keen on shaking off the knocks of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is the highest we have seen in this market. It is a history for the market. The positive sentiments are largely driven by good expectations on the performance of companies this year. Businesses have been resilient and their fundamentals are strong,” Mr Odundo told the Business Daily.
“Businesses have been putting in place post-Covid recovery models to insulate them from losses and ensure resilience and investors are buying into this.”
Yesterday’s performance also means that the NSE has now added Sh704.18 billion since January, with over 30 stocks having added wealth to the investors.
The latest NSE performance offers a reprieve to investors given that they saw a Sh322.74 billion loss on their wealth last year as they dumped equities to seek shelter in bonds and gold at the onset of the pandemic.
The Safaricom stock is benefiting from the news of Ethiopia entry and the recent confirmation that the Horn of Africa nation will soon allow for mobile money licence.
The telco’s share has been on an upswing and closed yesterday at Sh44.90 — a new all-time high — adding investors Sh78.13 billion since Wednesday last week.Safaricom closed yesterday valued at Sh1.798 trillion, which is equivalent to 61.6 percent of the NSE wealth, coming ahead of the payment of its Sh36.86 billion dividends at the end of the month.Banks have seen a rise on their stocks after the first half results sent the clearest indication that the sector […]