Nairobi bourse halts trading briefly, shilling falls after court election ruling

Traders on the floor of the Nairobi Securities Exchange. PHOTO | FILE 

In Summary

• Trading halted for half an hour after NSE 20-Share Index fell by over 5 per cent.
• Kenya's top court, in a majority decision Friday, ordered fresh presidential vote in 60 days, saying irregularities had compromised the integrity of the polls.

By CONSTANT MUNDA
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By The EastAfrican
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Trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was temporarily halted to tame panic transactions, especially by foreign investors, that had seen blue chip stock prices plummet Friday.

The Kenya shilling also fell by as much as 0.32 per cent within an hour after the Supreme Court cancelled the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

"In line with NSE trading rules, we halted trading from 12:30pm to 1:00pm as the NSE 20-Share Index performance decreased by over 5 per cent," the Nairobi bourse tweeted.

Kenya's top court, in a majority decision Friday, ordered fresh presidential vote in 60 days, saying irregularities had compromised the integrity of the polls.

Following the ruling, the shilling depreciated to 103.14 units against the dollar at 12.52pm from CBK's opening trade rate of 102.81.

“Markets hate uncertainty and clearly the Supreme Court’s decision has injected an unprecedented amount of uncertainty into the equation.

"The markets have a clear preference for the largely free market economics of President Kenyatta and hence the sharp and precipitous drop,” Aly-Khan Satchu, the chief executive of Rich Management, an investment advisory firm, said via e-mail.

Markets had reacted positively to the re-election of Mr Kenyatta, rallying to a 23-month high.

“The real economy was already on the ropes, this decision is a punch into the solar plexus.

"We have another 60 days where we will be trying to catch our breath,” Mr Satchu added.