NSE investors make 49 per cent gains up to November

The NSE trading floor at at its former location at Nation Centre on Kimathi Street. Foreign investors were key drivers, bringing Sh950 million more into the market. Photo/FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By GEOFFREY IRUNGU

In Summary

• A summary of monthly NSE data compiled by Standard Investment Bank (SIB) shows that in November alone, the index rose by six per cent compared to 4.6 per cent in October
• The appreciation of both big and small cap companies lifted NASI by 48.8 per cent to 142.58 points as at Friday, the last trading day of November
• The 20-Share Index, which captures price changes of 20 select firms, rose by 23.4 per cent in year-to-date terms, a lower figure than that of NASI

The Nairobi Securities Exchange All-Share Index (NASI), which tracks price changes of all listed companies, has risen by nearly 50 per cent since the beginning of the year.

This reflects investors’ bullish expectations on Kenya’s economic prospects.

A summary of monthly NSE data compiled by Standard Investment Bank (SIB) shows that in November alone, the index rose by six per cent compared to 4.6 per cent in October.

The appreciation of both big and small cap companies lifted NASI by 48.8 per cent to 142.58 points as at Friday, the last trading day of November.

The 20-Share Index, which captures price changes of 20 select firms, rose by 23.4 per cent in year-to-date terms, a lower figure than that of NASI.

Among the biggest price gainers in the course of the year have been Britam, up 137.5 per cent, Pan African holdings has gained 101 per cent while Housing Finance is up 102 per cent.

The top losers include Home Afrika, which has lost 73.8 per cent since its listing on the NSE in July, and Mumias Sugar whose price is lower by 29.9 per cent compared to the beginning of the year.

Marshalls (E.A) is down by 22.9 per cent while Scangroup has lost 17.5 per cent to stand at Sh56.50 as at the end of November.

The SIB data shows that foreign investors were key drivers of the investor gains as they poured Sh950 million more into the market ($11.04 million), net of their sales.

The top stocks targeted by foreign investors in November included Equity Bank, Nation Media Group and East African Breweries Ltd which realised net buys worth Sh550 million, Sh274 million and Sh260 million, respectively, from international buyers.

Foreigners also exited some counters with the leading ones being Bamburi and Safaricom, where the new between the worth of buys and sells were outflows of Sh439 million and Sh298 million respectively.

With the rally in Safaricom shares, foreigners were exiting and taking profit, selling to locals at a much higher price of between Sh10 and Sh11, double the Sh5 at which the IPO was priced at the primary market some five years ago.

Foreigners bought the Safaricom share for Sh5.50 each at the IPO stage.

The appreciation of NSE-listed shares across the board continued to push market capitalisation towards Sh2 trillion mark as the month ended.

Market capitalisation, which measures total investors’ wealth, closed the month at Sh1.995 trillion, despite having dropped by some Sh2 billion following the de-listing of ICT firm AccessKenya following a buyout by a South Africa company.