By ISABELLA MUKUMU
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) closed the year on a high, with equity turnover hitting a record Sh155 billion, according to data released by the bourse.
This represents an 80 per cent increase over the 2012 trade volume of Sh86.79 billion.
The NSE 20-Share Index, which tracks changes in prices of 20 select stocks, rose 19 per cent to 4,926 points while the All-Share Index gained 44 per cent to close at 136 points.
A total of 7.6 billion shares were traded during the year, up 40 per cent on the 5.4 billion that changed hands in 2012.
Safaricom was the most sought-after stock in the year, with investors having bought Sh30.5 billion worth of the telecommunication company’s shares. The company’s strong profit growth and prospects for a higher dividend payout saw the stock double in price in the year.
Beer maker EABL was the second most traded counter, recording a turnover of Sh25.3 billion while KCB was third with Sh21.5 billion.
Cross-listed Ugandan power distributor Umeme traded shares worth only Sh13,000, in a show of the existing difficulties in trading across borders.
The bonds market, however, saw a drop in fortunes, closing the year having declined by 14 per cent to Sh453 billion against Sh530 billion posted in 2012.
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